Equine Health
Important rules changes to the Drugs & Medication Rules for Competition Horses become effective December 1 The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) board of directors voted to amend its Therapeutic Drug Rule that will go into effect December 1. The rule changes allows only one of the seven approved nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs listed in the USEF Rule GR 410.4 to be present in the same plasma or urine sample. Both the AAEP and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) support the rule change. Please visit www.aaep.org for more info.
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
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