The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has concluded a number of sweet feed products containing a molasses base produced by Purina Mills Inc. at their Turlock mill contain the prohibited drug zilpaterol.
Purina produces a number of sweet feed products under their own name and under the Country Acres brand. To date, all the products were milled at the Turlock plant in February and have included Purina Race Ready, Purina Strategy, Purina Omoline-200, Country Acres Horse Feed and Country Acres Sweet-12. The Turlock plant is designated TRL on the lot number.
The CHRB is particularly interested in Purina products from mid-February from Purina’s Turlock mill. If any licensed trainer or feed company has an unopened bag of any Purina brand from mid-February milled at their Turlock plant, please contact their local CHRB investigator.
The CHRB has been working with the California Department of Food and Agriculture on this issue. Purina and the California Department of Food and Agriculture may have their own statements. The purpose of this notice is to avoid positive tests for zilpaterol. Zilpaterol is a beta-2 agonist used to promote weight gain in livestock. ARCI classifies zilpaterol as a Class 3 drug with a Category A penalty.
To clarify, Purina Mills Inc. is not affiliated with Agribrands Purina Canada Inc., which is the manufacturer of Purina brands in Canada.
(With files from CHRB)