Cargill Inc voluntarily withdraws nearly 150 tons of animal feed after North Carolina regulators discovered aflatoxin in the feed sample being tested, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday May 7.

Aflatoxin is a by-product of mold, which usually propagates under dry conditions in corn or other grains and can be harmful or even fatal to livestock.

Toxin became a serious problem for the US grain industry eight years ago, when a historic drought in the Midwestern United States brought everyone from farmers to grain processors and food officials high alert.

Cargill said it first found out about a problem in its products after the North Carolina Department of Agriculture warned the company that as a result, an Aflatoxin level was detected in a batch of feed.

Feed products included feed for poultry, beef and dairy cattle, sheep, goats and horses.

The company said it recalled 4,971 bags of feed, mostly in 50 pound bags with a total weight of 125 tons. Cargill did not disclose the dollar value of the recalled product.