Before last year’s Menu Foods disaster that killed many dogs and cats across the country, there was another pet food recall. In late 2005, Diamond Pet Foods recalled dog food that was contaminated with a kind of mold called aflatoxin. Dozens of dogs across the United States died from severe liver damage.
Diamond Pet Foods has reached a settlement with pet owners affected by the contaminated food. The company will pay more than three million dollars to affected pet owners.
- Owners of a dog that died from eating the contaminated food will receive up to one thousand dollars.
- Owners of affected dogs can be compensated up to one thousand dollars for testing and treatment for aflatoxin poisoning.
- Owners can be reimbursed for up to two bags of pet food.
- Attorneys representing the owners will share a fee of $465,000, paid out from the $3.1 million settlement.
That last part seems a little unfair to me — it seems almost like the lawyers are being compensated more than the dog owners are. It’s hard to put a price tag on suffering and grief.
I am glad to see that Diamond Pet Foods is accepting responsibility for the whole ordeal. They have acknowledged that workers at a plant in South Carolina neglected to test twelve shipments of corn in 2005. That corn was contaminated with aflatoxin, a naturally occurring chemical that can grow on corn and other crops. The contaminated food was sold in twenty-three states.
A lawyer for Diamond Pet Foods had this to say: “Diamond’s taken care of its customers since the very first day that they found out about this, and I think the settlement that we’ve entered into continues to do that.” Lawyers for both sides aren’t sure how many people will file claims against the company to take advantage of the settlement.