Manufacturer record

Diamond Pet Foods

Co-packer (makes food for other brands) · 7 plants

Credibility scored on the 20-point WSAVA tier, Medium confidence. An unverified field scores at half credit, never zero. How this feeds the grade →

Store brands they make

• Kirkland Signature (Costco) (supported)
• Kirkland Signature Nature's Domain (Costco) (supported)
• 4health (Tractor Supply) (supported)

Brands they own

Taste of the Wild · Diamond · Diamond Naturals · Diamond Pro89 · Diamond Care · Diamond Performance · Nutra-Gold · Nutra-Nuggets · Premium Edge · Professional · Professional Plus · Country Value · Apex · Checkups

Also co-packs for

• Solid Gold
• Chicken Soup for the Soul
• Wellness
• Canidae
• Natural Balance

Recall history

Recall events in the last 10 years weigh most; older events decay. Repeat events in the 10-year window: 0.

The detail

CLAIM (not verified): Diamond's 'Nutritional Integrity' page says formulas are developed by a team incorporating veterinary medicine (DVMs), pet food nutrition (PhD) and food microbiology (PhD). No named credentialed nutritionist is disclosed, the credential type is ambiguous (WSAVA wants a full-time PhD in Animal Nutrition or ACVN/ECVCN diplomate), and Diamond declined to answer the Pet Nutrition Alliance / WSAVA manufacturer questionnaire ('did not respond' for contract-manufacturer use, nutrition expert, plant ownership, and nutrient levels), so qualified_nutritionist, who_formulates, and substantiation_policy are left 'unknown' rather than credited. QC recorded as 'claimed' not 'documented': Diamond self-reports an extensive program (per diamondpet.com, ~5,520 ingredient tests/week and ~40,095 finished-product tests/week) plus annual NSF International GMP audits, but the numbers are self-reported and the one independent test of the program (2012 FDA inspection of the Gaston SC plant) found no microbiological analysis of incoming animal fat and multiple failures to prevent contamination, so the program is not treated as independently documented. publishes_research = no: no peer-reviewed/published nutrition research program (unlike Hill's, Purina, Royal Canin). transparency = opaque: privately held by the Schell and Kampeter families, does not name its nutritionists, does not disclose formulation/substantiation methodology, and declined the standard WSAVA questionnaire. Substantiation is likely formulation-only for most Diamond/Taste of the Wild labels ('formulated to meet AAFCO Nutrient Profiles') but left 'unknown' for lack of a clean per-manufacturer source.

Sources

• https://diamondpetcompany.com/
• https://diamondpetcompany.com/state-of-the-art-facilities/
• https://www.diamondpet.com/about/quality-assurance/
• https://www.mostatefairfoundation.net/richard-kampeter-gary-schell/
• https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/16189-diamond-pet-foods-invests-259-million-in-indiana-facility
• https://www.accelerateruralindiana.com/news/diamond-pet-foods-transforms-region-with-300-million-pet-food-manufacturing-facility-in-rushville
• https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/article/15467371/hh-group-of-hong-kong-acquires-us-based-solid-gold-pet
• https://allamerican.org/investigation/canidae/
• https://www.foodprocessing.com/product-development/pet-food/news/33009916/natural-balance-canidae-join-forces-to-create-ethos-pet-brands-parent-company
• https://diamondpetcompany.com/how-we-ensure-every-pet-is-getting-quality-ingredients/nutritional-integrity/
• https://www.diamondpet.com/about/nutritional-integrity/
• https://petnutritionalliance.org/resources/pet-food-manufacturer-evaluation-report/
• https://www.dvm360.com/view/multiple-failures-cited-diamond-pet-foods-facility
• https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/dog-food-05-12/
• https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6123a4.htm
• https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/salmonella/dog-food-05-12/advice-consumers.html
• https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/diamond-pet-foods-etc-recalls-2012/
• https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/dry-dog-food-salmonella-outbreak-sickened-49-cdc-says-flna894801
• https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/costco-diamond-reach-2m-dog-food-recall-class-action-settlement/

AI-assisted research, pending human review · 2026-07-05