I’m not too far away from there but fortunately I feed safe products
I so wish they would give more details about which feeds are the culprit rather than leaving it to the consumer to suss out.
Seriously.
This sort of non-informative press release is more likely to spread panic than keeping quiet would.
“Fumonisin is a toxin produced by mold (mycotoxin) that grows on corn.”
Is a good start while they trace back to the corn merchant and all those he supplies. Would you prefer that horses kept dropping while they pin-pointed the Brands of feed ?
There was a bit of hubbub on the local FB group about the lack of information. I guess the state vet isn’t allowed to publicly release the supplier. But some other local news sources indicate that the problem was mostly confined to Amish horses eating feed from a local mill. And the local vets can privately confirm the source if you contact them.
The alert from the DE state vet went out on May 29th- today is June 10th
Do you really think there are no records of where the product went to? Kent County, DE is very small.
This also comes right on the heels of strangles being in the area but they would not come out with the barn name- so it just led to everyone accusing all the big barns of having it. With-holding important info is infuriating and stupid
Heck in human food toxins, they
List the brands and products being recalled.
Time for the “good ole boys” to Stop protecting the feed mills and products.
No. It’s not crazy to think that DOGE cuts at the FDA have a part to play. There are all sorts of Federal and State requirements to satisfy in that situation. If there is nobody at the FDA to take care of that, you have a problem.
As someone who owns an Ag business in DE and a big part of the job is moving ag products around in DE, MD, PA and NJ- yes everything is still is getting tracked, inspected, etc.
Reputable feed companies test all incoming corn for fumonisin levels (among other things) before accepting it. My company regularly rejects loads of corn for this reason, especially in hot/dry summers.
My understanding of this situation is that it was a “mom and pop” type feed mill that produced the feed in question.
They have identified specific feeds which are contaminated.
Why not at the very least, identify the brand(s)/lot #s that are currently known, and continue looking for the origin of the corn used in them?
This is equivalent to saying “we found a toxic contaminant in some brands of OTC allergy meds” without any further information.
People would be calling CVS/Walgreen’s/etc. and going nuts trying to find out which brand(s).
Bingo.
I don’t know this for sure, but once my vet confirmed it was not any sort of reputable mill, I kind of got the feeling that there might be other “reasons” they can’t say the name. Like maybe the supplier or seller wasn’t properly on the books or something and there’s more investigation to do.
I really wish the press release from the state was worded better, though. It’s incited quite a panic in the area that was unnecessary. If you can’t say the supplier for whatever reason, at least provide us with more information than “horse feed containing corn purchased in April.”
Based on what I’ve been told (“mom and pop” feed store, possibly Amish owned) there may be no brands, product names, or lot numbers.
Then it ought to be fairly straightforward to say “if you purchased feed from Location ABC, do not feed it.”
Adding “we are continuing to investigate the initial source of the affected ingredient and will update as needed.”
I very much agree w this.
If this were a major feed manufacturer, they would have been named.
Name the manufacturer so people can make decisions concerning their animal’s health, welfare and possibly their lives.
The more educated the consumer the better.
The state of Delaware is only 3 counties. How many small mills can there be?
You might be surprised. Kent and Sussex counties are predominantly rural and agricultural. A lot of chickens and a decent sized hog industry. Kent also has a significant Amish population.
I mean, we’re not talking about hundreds or anything, but I can name at least a half dozen off the top of my head just from seeing them advertise locally.
(I live maybe 5 miles as the crow flies to the Kent Co, DE border)
Hog and chicken houses are contracted through the supplier typically. I don’t doubt there are small mills in each county, but at one point Lancaster County, PA had 46 small independent mills. I doubt there could be that many total in Delaware state.
My point is the public has a right to know who the manufacturer is for the safety of their animals. If it were any nationwide manufacturer, the name would be out there.
Small pellet mills have become extremely cheap and were heavily promoted for a while via homesteading influencers and the like. So - potentially a lot if you count everyone who is home-brewing pelleted feed.
But are these people selling to the public? If so, they should be regulated just like every other feed manufacturer out there.
I have toured enough small, independent feed mills, as a professional in the animal nutrition industry, as well as large corporate mills, to thoroughly understand there are plenty of places to NOT buy feed, and that goes for both small and large mills. What people perceive as cost savings is not worth risking the lives of my animals.
I toured a mill that’s the electrical system was so bad the owner told me he turned the power off at the main line every night so the mill didn’t catch fire. You can only imagine the lack of cleanliness, as well as the huge amount of bug and rodent infestation.
But yet he was manufacturing and selling feed to the public daily. Do you think a guy who can’t or will not replace the wiring in a mill is going to test incoming ingredients? Or care to thoroughly clean any equipment to avoid cross contamination?
If the general public is not given the knowledge of those who have issues because they don’t use good manufacturing processes, how else can they make informed decisions?
