Update, Dec. 18, from Gina Spadafori at Pet Connection: I just talked to Chambers Williams of The Tennessean. If your dog or cat ate the recalled food and got sick or died, he wants to talk to you, especially if you’re in Tennessee:. 615-259-8076.

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I’m interrupting Mongolia Monday because this is an emergency. This was posted on the Pet Connection blog on Dec. 18. Kroger’s did what is called a Friday night “dump and run” recall. Companies do this knowing that the news media is winding down for the weekend. Obviously, their priority is NOT to get the word out to people whose pets might be affected.

Reports of dead dogs, cats and ferrets have been posted in the comment thread. Here’s the start of the post:

This weekend it’s the grocery store mega-chain, Kroger, recalling dog and cat food sold in Kroger, Dillons, Gerbes, Baker’s, Food 4 Less, Jay C, Hilander, Owen’s, Pay Less, and Scott’s stores. From their release:

The Kroger Co. said today it is recalling select packages of pet food sold in some of its retail stores because the products may contain aflatoxin, which poses a health risk to pets.

Kroger stores in the following states are included in this recall:  Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The recall also includes Dillons and Gerbes stores in Kansas and Missouri; Baker’s stores in Nebraska; Food 4 Less stores in Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana (Chicago area); and Jay C, Hilander, Owen’s, Pay Less and Scott’s stores in Illinois and Indiana.

Stores the company operates under the following names are not included in this recall: Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Soopers, Smith’s, QFC, City Market, Foods Co., and Food 4 Less stores in California and Nevada.

Here are other sites you can go to for information:

Veterinary News Service site. (VNS)

American Veterinary Medical Association

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

From Wikipedia, this information about what aflatoxin is:

“Aflatoxins are naturally occurring mycotoxins that are produced by many species of Aspergillus, a fungus, most notably Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Aflatoxins are toxic and among the most carcinogenic substances known.”

And the result of exposure is:

“High-level aflatoxin exposure produces an acute hepatic necrosis, resulting later in cirrhosis, and/or carcinoma of the liver. Acute hepatic failure is made manifest by hemorrhage, edema, alteration in digestion, and absorption and/or metabolism of nutrients and mental changes and/or coma.

“No animal species is immune to the acute toxic effects of aflatoxins including humans”

Essentially, some ingredient in the food, possibly corn, is contaminated with high levels of this toxic fungus, which causes severe to fatal liver damamge.

Please pass the word to anyone you know in the the affected states who has pets.

One last word– some people think that somehow the attention given to pets is wrong and should go to people instead. But this country only has one food supply, so faulty practices that kill dogs and cats can potentially affect people too.