Two companies were sentenced in federal court Oct. 11 relating to the introduction of adulterated and misbranded pet food ingredients into interstate commerce.

Wilbur-Ellis Co. is a California limited liability company with headquarters in San Francisco, Cal. The feed division of Wilbur-Ellis marketed and distributed products and ingredients for use in the pet food industry, including animal proteins used in the manufacture of dog food and cat food. Diversified Ingredients Inc., a Missouri corporation with headquarters in Ballwin, Mo., is a commodity broker, merchandiser and distributor whose customers included a number of pet food companies and manufacturers.

Wilbur-Ellis was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $4.549 million in restitution, criminal forfeiture in the form of a money judgment in the amount of $964,442 and a fine of $1,000.

Diversified Ingredients was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution, criminal forfeiture in the form of a money judgment in an amount of $75,000 and a fine of $2,000.

On April 25, Wilbur-Ellis pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. On July 10, Diversified Ingredients pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce and one misdemeanor count of introducing misbranded food into interstate commerce.

In connection with the guilty pleas, the court was advised that pet food ingredients shipped from a Wilbur-Ellis facility in Rosser, Texas -- specifically, chicken meal and turkey meal -- were adulterated and misbranded through the use of cheaper substitute ingredients, such as feather meal and feed-grade chicken bone byproduct meal, and were adulterated and misbranded by omitting premium ingredients, such as turkey meal, from products identified as turkey meal. The adulterated pet food ingredients did not pose a threat to the health or safety of any animal.

Because the defendants are organizations, they were subject to a fine and a period of probation for their offense.