How we Protect our Customers - Examples

Pesticide/Hydrocarbon Residue Contamination

Diversified Laboratories has encountered numerous violations in levels of pesticides in products ranging from feed ingredients to food products.  Our work is to protect our customer and stop an issue before it becomes a problem in the press, with the Government, in a public recall or in the courtroom.  In every instance where we made the discovery as part of an on-going quality control program with our customer, USDA/FDA involvement and any significant cost to the company were avoided. 

In instances where compounds could not be identified in the traditional pesticide screen, we have done the research and new compounds are included as part of our routine pesticide screen.  To date, we have the most comprehensive chlorinated pesticide screen available in the United States including 47 individual pesticides. This represents approximately more than 2X times the number of pesticides included in the traditional pesticide screen...more extensive screening means more extensive protection.

Examples of how we have saved our customers money and reputation include:

1. Diversified demonstrated there were major errors in results by a USDA laboratory significantly reducing the the scope of a $2.5 million recall of turkey products. Our work saved our customer money, bad press and maintained their reputation for quality. The analysis involved over 350 samples in a seven day time period.



2. Diversified saved a U.S. multinational feed company from an expensive 7 state recall by disproving "false positive" analytical results on feed samples by another commercial laboratory. The laboratory work was completed within a 48-hour period over a weekend.
   
   
3. Diversified successfully removed a USDA challenge of a company's use of an illegal pesticide by developing a special analytical method to demonstrate the presence of a specific pesticide on two flies. This was the only evidence a large national meat-packer had to prove to the USDA that an illegal pesticide had not been used in their packing plant.



4. Diversified identified and contained a pesticide contamination incident in turkey and broiler flocks throughout Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina caused by fat products from an East Coast renderer.



5. Diversified provided laboratory support for a pesticide contamination problem encountered by integrated Mississippi poultry producers. The contamination was responsible for an estimated $20 million dollar loss by these companies.



6. Diversified reported results within 36 hours for an accidental spill of a pesticide in a Virginia stream by a multinational pharmaceutical company. Results included the development of a method to analyze water and soil samples. The rapid response restricted the contamination to a small segment of the stream and adjacent land.
   
   
7. Diversified identified a carcinogenic (cancer) agent, in broiler tissues, traced it to the source of the contamination and eliminated it from the operation within ten days of the discovery from a large integrated operation. This saved our customer their reputation, time and money.
    
8. Diversified prevented a threatened shutdown of a large Canadian rendering operation by the Canadian Government due to purported contamination of animal by products with chlorinated hydrocarbons. Diversified Laboratories demonstrated errors in  results from the Canadian Government laboratories thus avoiding a shutdown of the rendering plant.  We also established an ongoing pesticide/PCB/chlorinated dioxin quality control program approved and supported by the Canadian Government.



9. Diversified identified the presence of PCB's in poultry tissues and traced the contamination to fish meal containing heat exchanger fluids. The contamination, which included large number of poultry operations in the Southeast, resulted in $50 million dollar lawsuit with the manufacturer of the heat exchanger product.



10. Diversified conducted research on dose and exposure period of specific pesticides and the corresponding pesticide level in the tissues of poultry. This information enables us to provide its clients with guidance on appropriate action in the event of a pesticide contamination problem.



11. Diversified resolved a problem of unidentified compounds in certain feed grade fat blends which were reported by other commercial laboratories as pesticides. The comprehensive research project determined that the unidentified substances were not pesticides but five compounds derived which appear in certain types of fat blends under specific conditions.



12. Diversified identified and resolved a significant organophosphate pesticide contamination incident involving animal byproducts from a major national rendering company. Diversified Laboratories collaborated with USDA on behalf of the company, identified the source of the contamination source which was removed from the operations with no penalties or business interruption for the company.



13. Diversified was the scientific/technical lead in the resolution of a $2 million international lawsuit involving the contamination of poultry and livestock feed and tissues with certain hydrocarbons.

Non-Pesticide Research & Development

1. In collaboration with Kansas State University, Diversified studied regarding the effect of dietary fat on the total fat and fatty acid composition of beef cattle.



2. Presented to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) information regarding the use of tall oil fatty acids in feed grade fat blends throughout the South and Southwest. This project included the development of a analytical method specific for abietic acids, which serve as the "marker" for the presence of tall oils in feed grade fat products.



3. Conducted a collaborative study with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the development of a high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for a more highly specific analysis for sulfa drug residues in turkey tissues such as muscle, liver and kidney. The methodology provides more precise residue levels for sulfa in the tissues as well as lowering shipment costs of the tissue since continual freezing during transit to the laboratory is no longer necessary.



4. Conducted research work for the American Fats and Protein Research Foundation (FPRF) for the identification of the "non-elutable fractions" present in restaurant greases which were previously thought to be polymers. Diversified Laboratories' research demonstrated that the materials were not polymers but oligomers, generally present at low levels which paved the way for an improvement in the export of fats to Western Europe by the National Renderers Association (NRA) and its members.



5. Conducted an extensive research program on the important factors associated with the development of the "OILY BIRD SYNDROME". The research eliminated the popular belief that the syndrome was due to the use of polyunsaturated fatty acids in broiler rations and demonstrated that the problem was related to specific calorie/nutrient imbalances which caused changes in the tissues in broilers exhibiting the syndrome.



6. Collaborative study with University of Georgia to demonstrate the impact of the fatty acid oligomers and glyceride oligomers present in restaurant greases on the metabolizable energy value of these materials in poultry and livestock rations. Diversified Laboratories developed special chemical and analytical methods to measure the utilization of oligomers and, hence, their impact on the metabolizable energy value of feed grade fats and oils.



7. Conducted research studies for a large integrated broiler company for comparisons of body composition among competitive chicken products sold for human consumption. The research included the development of methods to determine small but statistically significant differences in fat percentages and fatty acid composition of edible tissues. The results of this research project were required to meet the standards of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in order to be used as a part of a large regional advertising campaign through various advertising media.