Diamond Pet Foods, Inc. is the name under which Schell and Kampeter, Inc. does business as a U.S.-based commercial pet food

Pet food

Pet food is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food...

 manufacturer with plants located in Meta, Missouri

Meta, Missouri

Meta is a city in Osage County, Missouri, United States. The population was 249 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area and is also the world headquarters of Diamond Pet Foods.-Geography:...

, Lathrop, California

Lathrop, California

Lathrop is a city located in . At the 2010 census Lathrop’s population was 18,023, and has a projected “build out” population of 70,000. The city is located in Northern California at the intersection of I-5 and 120 freeways.-Geography:...

 and Gaston, South Carolina

Gaston, South Carolina

Gaston is a town in Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,645 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Gaston is located at ....

. It is a privately-held, family owned enterprise established in 1970 as a livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 feed company.

Ingredients

Diamond promotes its original line of pet food as super-premium, though certain ingredients present in a variety of its foods are considered to be lower-quality by some pet owners, including meat meal

Meat and bone meal

Meat and bone meal is a product of the rendering industry. It is typically about 48 - 52% protein, 33-...

, chicken by-product meal, poultry by-product meal

Poultry by-product meal

Poultry by-product meal is a high-protein commodity used as a major component in some pet foods. It is made from grinding clean, rendered parts of poultry carcasses and can contain bones, offal and undeveloped eggs, but only contains feathers that are unavoidable in the processing of the poultry...

, brewers rice

Brewers rice

Brewers rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. . Brewers rice is a processed rice product that is missing many of the nutrients contained in whole ground rice and brown rice thus reducing the qualityBrewers rice and second...

, and fish meal

Fish meal

Fish meal, or fishmeal, is a commercial product made from both whole fish and the bones and offal from processed fish. It is a brown powder or cake obtained by rendering pressing the cooked whole fish or fish trimmings to remove most of the fish oil and water, and then ground...

. http://drydogfood.bravehost.com/sm/ Other animal health experts recognize benefits of by-products and say the presence of by-products in a commercial pet food does not always indicate a poor-quality product.

Diamond Pet Food recall

On December 20, 2005, Diamond Pet Food discovered aflatoxin

Aflatoxin

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

 in a product manufactured at its facility in Gaston, South Carolina. Diamond voluntarily recalled 19 products in 23 states formulated with corn and manufactured in the Gaston facility. These products included Diamond Low Fat Dog Food, Hi-Energy Dog Food, Maintenance Dog Food, Performance Dog Food, Premium Adult Dog Food, Puppy Food, and Maintenance Cat Food. http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/diamond12_05.html Testing of more than 2,700 finished product samples conducted by laboratories confirmed that only two date codes of two adult dog formulas with the "Best By" dates of April 3, April 4, April 5 and April 11 were potentially toxic. http://www.akcstandard.com/article/contaminated-dog-food-1-06.html

Products

Diamond introduced Diamond Naturals in 2006. These products contain no by-products, corn, or wheat. They also manufacture Bright Bites brand dental treats, Taste of the Wild brand pet food, and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul brand dog and cat food.

They also manufacture under contract, for other companies, at least some of the pet foods sold under these brands or business names.

• Canidae Pet Food
  Canidae Pet Food
  Canidae Pet Food is a United States privately held pet food company based in San Luis Obispo, California, USA that manufactures dry dog food and cat food products and baked dog treats...
  
  
• Costco
  Costco
  Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
  
  's Kirkland Signature
• Solid Gold Health Products for Pets
  Solid Gold (pet food)
  Solid Gold Health Products For Pets, Inc. is a manufacturer and a world-wide supplier of holistic pet foods based in El Cajon, California. They also maintain distribution centers in Leipzig, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Atsugi, Japan, and Espoo, Finland....
  
  
• Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods
  Natural Balance Pet Foods
  Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods is an American commercial pet food manufacturer with its headquarters located in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California...
  
  
• Nature's Domain (Available only at Costco)
• Taste of the Wild Pet Foods
• Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul

Sources

• Diamond Pet Foods
• The Best Dry Dog Foods
• Are by-products bad?
• AKC Standard Article