Update on melamine poisoning

[Guest guest]

Sorry for this sort of OT post, but we were discussing it before, and

it is an issue that potentially can affect everyone. Apparently

Chinese sources of grain products have been intentionally adding

chemicals to increase apparent protein content!!! More reason to eat

local, organic and unprocessed foods!!!

 

Here is an excerpt of a recent article:

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FDA and Agriculture Department experts revealed preliminary findings

that may explain how low doses of the prime contaminant -- the

industrial chemical melamine, which is considered only mildly toxic --

may have caused the deaths of some pets. A second contaminant found

in the pet food, cyanuric acid, when combined with melamine, appears

to prompt the formation of crystals in urine, they said. The crystals

can cause kidney failure.

It is unclear how the two chemicals found their way into pet food,

but many experts suspect they were added intentionally so that test

results of the protein content of the food would be falsely elevated.

Both chemicals are rich in nitrogen, which is the element that the

protein tests measure.

China, for the first time, acknowledged that wheat and rice protein

sent to the United States contained an industrial chemical known as

melamine. But the Chinese government said that there is no " clear

evidence " that it led to the poisoning or death of the pets.

FDA officials said the number of pets that the agency has confirmed

dead from the contamination remains in the high teens -- far fewer

than the hundreds claimed by others -- but they conceded that they

are not making an effort to track that number. Their main concern,

they said, is to block the entry of more contaminated ingredients

into the country and to stem the spread of contaminated food products

already in the country.

That effort led to the recognition that some pet food manufacturers

that had used tainted ingredients had sold pet food waste or scraps

to eight hog producers in California, North Carolina, South Carolina,

New York, Kansas, Oklahoma and Utah.

There is also a chance that a mill in Missouri bought some of the

product and fed it to chickens, they said -- a possibility still

under investigation. Having received the paperwork from China letting

them get visas, FDA inspectors are preparing to go there to inspect

some plants, officials said.

Under federal law, farmers are not required to destroy the

potentially contaminated hogs. But the Agriculture Department has

informed them that the animals will not get the agency's stamp of

approval, which is required for the meat to be sold.