FDA recalls Sportmix pet food after 28 dogs died from toxic mold

The Food and Drug Administration has recalled certain pet foods from Sportmix after at least 28 dogs died and eight others became ill from products containing high levels of toxic molds.

The agency warned pet owners and animal specialists on Wednesday that certain varieties of the brand’s pet food “may contain life-threatening levels of aflatoxin.”

Aflatoxin is a mold that can grow on corn and other grains used in pet foods, the agency said.

Symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning include laziness, loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting, the agency said.

Pet owners whose pets have eaten the recalled Sportmix products – which are listed on the FDA website – are urged to contact their veterinarians.

The FDA said it was working with the Missouri Department of Agriculture to determine if additional products are also potentially harmful.

“While this pet food recall is still ongoing, we share the facts we have so far as the levels of aflatoxin found in the recalled pet foods are potentially fatal,” Dr. Amber McCoig , deputy director of the FDA’s veterinary medicine division’s Center of Compliance, said in a statement.