Diamond Pet Foods is recalling all of its dog foods produced in their South Carolina plant due to salmonella contamination. The company has recalled more than 10 brands of dog Food after 14 people have been poisoned with salmonella.
When asked what people should do to help stave off the salmonella outbreak, Diamond representative Keith Trokle said, "It's not an easy solution. People love dog food, always have. I don't know what to tell people right now."
Brands like "Taste of the Wild" have always been top-selling products with humans. With a name like that, who could blame them? Eating it makes you feel like some sort of ravenous canine, roaming the woods for sustenance. But many people don't want to change their eating habits, despite the newest outbreak of salmonella. "Food is food," says pet owner Kara Nichols. "I'm not going to let some company tell me that I can't share a meal with my dog. He's a person too. He should be allowed to enjoy Diamond brand human food."
| The FDA is considering revising the food pyramid which, as you can see, suggests that you eat a moderate amount of dog food every day. |
Some people, however, are questioning whether brands like "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul," which are obviously marketed to humans, are really as healthy as Diamond wants consumers to think. Nancy Forrester, the owner of a pet shelter in Los Angeles, says that she has been buying Diamond Pet foods in bulk for over 20 years. "I feel like I have been taken advantage of, lied to by the company. My employees have been eating Diamond brands for 23 years. Now they tell us it'll make us sick?"
It may be time for the many Americans who eat dog food to cut the staple out of their diet. Diamond Pet Foods suggests easing back to only two or three servings of dog food per day for humans and only one serving a day for dogs.
Although only 14 people have confirmed cases of salmonella, many experts estimate that Salmonella could end up killing 900 million people in the next two days until everyone forgets about it.
