FYI
Quoted from Food Safety News.com 2012
The results of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspection into a Diamond Pet Foods production plant may benefit the trio of lawsuits filed against the Missouri pet food manufacturer tied to a Salmonella outbreak and recall earlier this year.
That inspection, conducted six days after the first of Diamond’s eight recalls, found numerous health violations, including failures to clean and maintain equipment and a lack of contaminant screenings on raw ingredients. The evidence does not bode well for Diamond as the company faces three separate lawsuits from human victims and pet owners in the U.S. and Canada, according Benjamin England, a 17-year FDA veteran and founder of FDAImports.com, a food industry consulting firm.
One unfortunate event can bring the entire weight of the federal government to bear upon your door.” another reminder of the importance of FDA compliance:
If Diamond had operated in compliance with FDA rules Instead, it’s being used against them. The lawsuits specifically cite the inspection report as evidence of Diamond’s negligence and breach of warranty. Diamond must resort to “damage control” — making it clear to customers that plant management has been revised and the product’s quality improved. For everyone else, he sees it as another reminder of the importance of FDA compliance: impossible to determine the number of dogs sickened, as so few pets are ever tested for gastrointestinal bacteria
