Moldy food killed more than one thousand stray dogs in shelters, Taiwan's agricultural department said on Monday.

The dog food was contaminated with aflatoxin, a chemical produced by fungus, which caused liver damage in the dogs.

On Dec. 22, 2008, the agricultural authority received a report which said more than 300 dogs died at two shelters in Taipei county.

Staff with the shelters said the dogs were extremely weak, jaundice, and had blood in their urine. The symptoms are typical of liver damage.

According to Taiwan media, another 1,000 dogs, with the same symptoms, reportedly died in Yunlin, Tainan and Kaohsiung counties.

The agricultural department did not give any details on when any of the dogs died or how many others might be affected by the tainted food.

The dead dogs were fed with food produced by Ji-Tai Forage Company. The brand name was "Peter's Kind-Hearted Dog Food".

The food only went to pet shelters on the island. It was never exported or sold by retailers, the agricultural authority said.

The company, located in Yunlin, made the dog food with 1,500 tonnes of moldy corn which was imported from Pakistan last November.

The company produced 50 tonnes of dog food with that corn. Twenty tonnes of it went to dog shelters on the island.

The agricultural authority ordered Ji-Tai to reclaim and destroy the other 30 tonnes of tainted dog food on Dec. 30, 2008. It said this has already been done, although it did not give a date.

Ji-Tai also produced 1,450 tonnes of pig food with the moldy corn However, Yunlin county authorities found no toxic pig food in spot tests.

It is unknown whether any of the pig feed was exported off the island.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), samples taken from the dog food showed it contained up to 150 ppb (parts per billion) of aflatoxin. The US Food and Drug Administration said the level should not exceed 20 ppb for animal feeds.

In a statement released Monday, Ji-Tai apologized for the contaminated dog food and said it would not shy away from it's responsibility.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2009)