Cattle feed produced by Purina may be linked to animal deaths

Multiple reports of cattle deaths in Florida may be linked to animal feed, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Nawarra | pixabay.com
Nawarra | pixabay.com

Multiple reports of cattle deaths in Florida may be linked to animal feed, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Purina Animal Nutrition is investigating cattle feed produced for Tractor Supply under the chain’s Producer’s Pride brand. The product and lot under suspicion are Producer’s Pride 20% All Natural Cattle Cube, lot number 8DEC22MUL2. Purina said the cause of the cattle mortalities is undetermined, and the investigation is ongoing.

Approximately 1,500 bags of the product were manufactured by Purina Animal Nutrition on December 22, 2018, and sold by Tractor Supply Company in 39 stores in Florida and in one store in southern Georgia as follows: Florida: Starke, Fort Pierce, Saint Cloud, Chiefland, Lake Wales, Sebring, Okeechobee, Eustis, Haines City, Newberry, Bradenton, Palatka, Wauchula, Zephyrhills, Deland, Lake City, Orlando, Arcadia, Dunnellon, Fort Myers, Saint Augustine, Live Oak, Jacksonville, Homosassa, Macclenny, Bartow, Perry, Groveland, Gainesville, Cocoa, Osteen, North Fort Myers, Loxahatchee, Crawfordville, Palm Coast, Hudson, Sarasota, Port Charlotte, and Riverview. Additionally, the product was sold in Kingsland, Georgia.

Customers can find the lot number on the sewing strip of each bag. Tractor Supply previously completed a voluntary “stop sale” and immediately quarantined any remaining product.

Customers who purchased this product are instructed to discard it or return it to their local Tractor Supply store to exchange the product for a like item or refund.

Investigation underway

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has collected product and cattle samples from across the state and is in the process of conducting laboratory tests. In addition, the department has conducted on-site verifications at Tractor Supply Company locations, outreach to Purina Animal Nutrition to facilitate the voluntary withdrawal of the affected product, as well as outreach to the agricultural community.

Customers may contact Purina Animal Nutrition’s Customer Service at +1.800.227.8941 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST.

Customers with questions may also contact Tractor Supply’s Customer Solution Center at +1.877.718.6750 as follows: Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST and Sunday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST.

Veterinarians or producers who are aware of sudden unexplained deaths in cattle should contact the State Veterinarian’s Office at +1.850.410.0900 (after hours for emergencies, contact +1.800.342.5869) or [email protected].

For feed-related complaints or concerns, please contact the Bureau of Inspection and Incident Response, Division of Agricultural Environmental Services, at +1.850.617.7996 or [email protected].

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