Equine Health

Land O’Lakes Purina Feed

Eastern U.S. Voluntary Feed Product Retrieval

Our recent aflatoxin-related voluntary feed product retrieval has resulted in a number of questions from animal owners and veterinary professionals.  Updated information on this situation is provided below.

§  In mid-February our own incoming ingredient testing and routine state regulatory testing simultaneously indicated aflatoxin above FDA action levels in certain feeds manufactured at our Statesville, North Carolina feed plant.

o   We immediately implemented an internal investigation and testing regimen to determine which products might be affected and, as a precautionary measure, initiated a voluntary retrieval of affected products (February 14, 2008) even prior to receiving all testing results.

§  Our investigation indicated a single ingredient from a single supplier, serving three eastern plants (Statesville, N.C.; Harrisburg, Penn.; Guilderland, N.Y.), as the aflatoxin source.

Note: No other plants are involved in the product retrieval.

o   We suspended purchases from this supplier and, as additional testing was conducted, appropriately expanded the voluntary product retrieval to include specific products, produced during specific time frames at these plants. 

o   Only products distributed in the following eastern states are included in the retrieval: Connecticut; Delaware; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; eastern Tennessee; northern Georgia.

§  Products manufactured at these plants after the following dates are NOT included in the voluntary retrieval:  February 8, 2008, Harrisburg and Statesville; March 10, 2008, Guilderland.

§  The decision was made to implement the product retrieval through local dealers, whose first-hand relationships and knowledge of customer purchasing patterns offered the best opportunity to get information regarding specific products and lot numbers to potentially affected customers as quickly and clearly as possible.  Dealers have been responsive and helpful throughout the process.

§  As of the date of this posting, we have no confirmed cases of aflatoxin-related animal health issues.  We continue to urge customers with concerns about their animals to contact local veterinarians.

§  We deeply regret the concern this situation may be causing for our customers and for their veterinary professionals.  We are continually evaluating measures to further strengthen our quality programs.   Animal health and welfare, along with customer trust and confidence, remain our utmost priorities.

• If you have further questions, contact our veterinary website equinevetnutrition.com
• For a list of products included in the voluntary retrieval, see our website at purinamills.com

July 25, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

SAVE THE DATE!

May 13-15, 2009:        MARE Center, Middleburg, VA

May 18-20, 2009:        Virginia Beach Mounted Patrol Stables, Virginia Beach, VA

            I wanted to make you aware of a program that Virginia Cooperative Extension is coordinating in May 2009.  The Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue (TLAER) program teaches emergency responders and other people interested in the horse industry how to use the latest concepts and equipment in emergencies and disasters involving horses.  It also teaches how to use equipment emergency responders may already have to solve TLAER incidents and how to interact with other resources that may already exist in a given community.  This 3-day program includes a combination of lectures, presentations, and hands-on training.  We will accept 30 participants for each program as well as 30-50 auditors.  Participants will be involved in the hands-on training as well as lectures and presentations, and will receive a completion certificate from TLAER at the end of the program.  Auditors will be able to attend the lectures and presentations but will not participate in the hands-on training.  Auditors will receive a certificate of completion from Virginia Cooperative Extension.  Lunch for all three days and dinner for one day will be included for both participants and auditors.

            More information, including registration fees, will be forthcoming later in 2008.  If you would like to ensure that you receive further notification of this event, please fill out the attached form and send it to:

TLAER Training – Preliminary Notification

MARE Center

5527 Sullivan’s Mill Rd.

Middleburg, VA 20117

            If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at cporr@vt.edu or by phone at 540-687-3521 ext 27.

Thank you,

Shea Porr, PhD

Equine Extension Agent, Northern Virginia

Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue Training

Preliminary Interest Notification

Please indicate which date and place you may be interested in attending:

_____             May 13-15, MARE Center, Middleburg, VA

_____             May 18-20, Virginia Beach, VA

Name/Business:  __________________________________________________________

Address:  ________________________________________________________________

                 ________________________________________________________________

Telephone:    ________________________      E-mail:  ____________________________

Send notification to:

TLAER Training – Preliminary Notification

Dr. Shea Porr, MARE Center

5527 Sullivans Mill Road

Middleburg, VA 20117

For questions, contact:

Dr. Shea Porr

cporr@vt.edu

540-687-3521 ext 27