What was recalled
On December 21, 2005, Diamond Pet Foods, Inc. voluntarily recalled approximately 20 varieties of dog and cat food manufactured at its Gaston, South Carolina plant between October 26 and November 16, 2005. The brands affected spanned Diamond’s manufacturing portfolio: Diamond, Country Value, Professional, and a number of regional private-label cuts the plant produced for distributors in the Southeast and Eastern U.S. The recall ultimately covered approximately 350,000 bags with Best Before dates between June and August 2006.
The recall was triggered by a New York veterinarian who, in mid-December 2005, identified a cluster of dog deaths from acute hepatotoxicity and traced the common factor to Diamond-manufactured product. FDA investigation followed within days. The American Veterinary Medical Association’s subsequent JAVMA coverage documented that Diamond had no record of mycotoxin test results for 12 separate shipments of corn received at the Gaston plant in 2005 — a procedural lapse rather than a testing-method failure. Estimates of total mortality run above 100 dogs; the exact toll is unknowable because diagnostic confirmation required liver biopsy and aflatoxin assay that most field veterinarians did not perform.
Why it was recalled
Aflatoxins are mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus fungi that grow on corn, peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts during warm-humid growing or storage conditions. Aflatoxin B1 is among the most potent known hepatotoxins; at high doses it causes rapid hepatocellular necrosis and acute liver failure in dogs (cats are also susceptible but the 2005 event was predominantly canine). The FDA action level for aflatoxin in pet food is 20 parts per billion (ppb). The Diamond Gaston-plant corn shipments in the 2005 batch tested at up to 200 ppb — ten times the action level. The contamination was a function of the 2005 Southeast U.S. growing season (drought stress on corn followed by humid storage) and Diamond’s failure to run incoming-shipment aflatoxin assays per the company’s own published quality-systems protocol. Three years later, Diamond settled a class-action lawsuit for $3.1 million.
Health risks for your pet
Acute aflatoxicosis in dogs presents within days of high-dose exposure as vomiting, anorexia, profound lethargy, jaundice (yellowing of gums, eyes, and skin), dark urine (bilirubinuria), and acute liver failure. Bloodwork shows dramatically elevated liver enzymes (ALT, AST), elevated bilirubin, and coagulopathy from impaired hepatic synthesis of clotting factors. The clinical course in fatal cases ran 24 to 72 hours from first signs to death — rapid enough that most affected dogs did not survive long enough for diagnosis-driven supportive care. Dogs that survived the initial exposure with intensive supportive care (IV fluids, vitamin K1, hepatoprotective agents like SAMe and silymarin, transfusion for coagulopathy) often went on to develop chronic hepatic insufficiency. The 2005-2006 mortality figures (>100 deaths) and the survivor-morbidity profile both informed FDA’s subsequent action-level enforcement and the post-2008 mandatory traceability requirements.
What to do if you bought affected product
All affected Best Before dates expired in 2006; no household pantry should still contain recalled product. If your dog or cat died of unexplained acute liver failure in late 2005 or early 2006 and was fed Diamond-manufactured product from the Gaston plant, the timing aligns with this event — Diamond’s consumer affairs department historically processed reimbursement claims under the recall settlement through 2008. The post-2008 FDA Amendments Act ingredient-traceability rules and the Reportable Food Registry mean that current Diamond product is sourced through a documented incoming-grain mycotoxin testing protocol, and the Gaston plant has not had an aflatoxin recall since 2005-2006 (though it had a separate 2012 Salmonella event).
How this affects KibbleIQ’s grade
Diamond Pet Foods is one of North America’s largest pet food contract manufacturers and produces Diamond Naturals as its consumer-facing flagship brand. Our methodology v15 scores Diamond Naturals on its current ingredient list per our published methodology; we do not deduct points for a 2005-2006 supply-chain event when the corrective actions (FDA-mandated traceability, internal mycotoxin testing protocols, plant inspections) are documented and effective. Diamond Naturals currently scores in the B range on most variants; the brand is a high-value option in the affordable mass-market tier. Recall-history scoring under methodology v2 will weigh single-event supplier failures with documented corrective action less heavily than pattern-of-recall histories. The 2005-2006 event also drove industry-wide regulatory improvements that benefit every brand sourcing U.S. corn today, including stricter FDA action-level enforcement and the Reportable Food Registry. For now, our recommendation: read both our current Diamond Pet Foods review AND this recall page when evaluating the brand.