FDA Quarantines Hogs Fed Tainted Pet Food; Unsure About Human Food Supply

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Salvaged pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical was sent to hog farms in as many as six states, federal health officials said Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if any hogs that ate the tainted feed then entered the food supply for humans.

Hogs at a farm in California ate the contaminated products, and officials were trying to determine whether hogs in New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Ohio may have eaten the tainted food. Hogs at some of the farms - it wasn't immediately clear which - have been quarantined.

--
"At this point, I don't have a definitive answer other than to say that the issue is being addressed," Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's chief veterinarian, told reporters when asked if any of the hogs had entered the human food supply. A poultry farm also may be involved, he added.

The FDA also said it planned to begin testing a wide variety of vegetable proteins at firms that imported the ingredients to make everything from pizza dough to infant formula, and protein shakes to energy bars. The ingredient list includes wheat gluten, corn gluten, corn meal, soy protein and rice bran.


Read more: http://www.komotv.com/news/national/7172491.html

[havocmom]

1. The war against America continues. The Corporations are winning.

:grr:

[rodeodance]

2. oh oh--drop in pork prices for the farmers.

[rumpel]

3. somehow I knew this would come...

I guess I have to eat less, so I can invest in pricier food - organic and locally grown...

and if you run into an organic farmer or rancher give him/her a hug.

[havocmom]

4. hogs fed 'salvaged food' before it was recalled?

From link in OP:

FDA officials said the hogs were fed salvaged pet food made with tainted rice protein concentrate. The food was given to the animals prior to the products' recalls, Rogers said. Adulterated food cannot be legally fed to either humans or animals, Sundlof said.

Huh?!?!??? How could it be "salvaged pet food" if it wasn't done AFTER the products' recalls?

[Purveyor]

6. How could it be "salvaged pet food" if it wasn't done AFTER the products' recalls?

Exactly. The money-grubbing bastards were trying to squeeze out the very last dime before the scandel broke.

This requires a 'criminal investigation', indeed!

[catgirl]

8. They're quickly changing their stories

It went from tainted food was diverted to a hog farm in CA, to "salvaged"???
What????

[Shallah Kali]

16. More butt saving maneuvers from the FDA. They can't admit Diamond sold recalled tainted food

Gotta protect those precious corporations from any harm to their delicate selves.

[lovuian]

5. Infant formula OMG

Whoah FDA must be peeing in the pants

[catgirl]

9. And corn meal, soy protein..............

Time to plant that extra big vegetable garden!

[Cobalt Violet]

7. The greed will only stop when we have all been killed by it.

It's just corporate greed.

[Purveyor]

12. Our garden is going to be expanded this year and we will be scouting the garage sales

for 'canning jars'.

Have the acreage for some livestock but...I know we will come to love every critter we raise so slaughter for meat is 'out'. Eggs would work.

[Shallah Kali]

15. Many major cities allow people to keep chickens - link

http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/chickenlaws.html

[Theres-a]

10. Holy crap!

We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooo fucked.

[NYC]

11. pizza dough...infant formula...protein shakes...energy bars

The list grows and grows. Earlier, I read bread.

[tavalon]

13. Given that they all have wheat gluten, that would seem to be likely

But the question is which items of those are the contaminated ones. This is one time when having Celiac Sprue doesn't seem so bad.

(I can't eat gluten)

[Shallah Kali]

14. The Article is on Yahoo - Please Rate It Up

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070424/ap_on_go_ot/pet_food_recall_3
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070425/ap_on_go_ot/pet_food_recall_5

[gauguin57]

17. Babe's revenge.

That'll do, pig. That'll do.

[Heidi]

18. Kick.

:kick:

[CHIMO]

19. U.S. examines if human food tainted

Source: reuters

WASHINGTON–Health officials are now looking at whether humans may have consumed food containing a chemical linked to a recall of pet foods and livestock feed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today.

FDA officials said they would inspect imports of six grain products used in foods ranging from bread to baby formula for traces of melamine, a chemical thought to have killed and sickened cats and dogs.

The FDA named the six grain products to be inspected as wheat gluten, corn gluten, corn meal, soy protein, rice bran and rice protein.

"We're going to target firms that we know are receiving imported products," said David Acheson, chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in a conference call with reporters. "The goal is obviously to sample as much as we can."



Read more: http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/206707

[NYC]

20. The Toronto Star.

Pork in NY is contaminated, and I'm reading The Toronto Star.

In addition to all the rest, now we have this:

...foods ranging from bread to baby formula...


What's left?

[Kagemusha]

21. Does the FDA even have enough labs to do the job right?

My understanding is that the FDA was overworked as it is and has been shutting down labs to save money.

[woodsprite]

22. I'd like to know what the honest people in the FDA think of this

and how it's being treated.

[NYC]

23. FDA has no intention of banning imports...from China!

... Still, the FDA has no intention of banning imports of wheat gluten, rice protein or similar products from China.

"We believe the safety net is in place to make sure that no additional products are going to get into the commerce of the United States," said David Elder, director of FDA's enforcement office...

[kurth]

27. Yep, like wheat gluten and protein products from China are critical to national security

What bullshit.

[Shallah Kali]

29. And No Intention of Naming Companies That Bought Suspect Food. 1% Imported food is tested

That safety net is like trying to catch a person jumping from a burning building with a piece of dental floss.

[Kool Kitty]

34. What's their idea of a "safety net",

when enough people and pets die to bring it to the attention of the evening news?

[NYC]

39. I was thinking the safety net was made of

a string of corpses.

They are not helping us.

[Vilis Veritas]

24. Gee, what is so hard?

All we got to do is stop eating...right?

[Purveyor]

25. Where are the Dem's in this evolving scandel....this could very well be a major issue in 2008.

Nothing hits home more than your own families health or that of your loved pets.

Wake up Congressional people and take the lead on this one.

Somebody needs to!!!

[kurth]

28. Dems MUST seize this as an issue

This food poisoning bullshit is Exhibit #1 of how the Bush government is protecting America.

[Mojorabbit]

26. I think this

is only going to get worse, that is if they really investigate the breath of it.

[StarryNite]

30. After how many weeks?

Nice to see they are right on top of things. :eyes:

[rumpel]

31. Reuters: FDA says probing "thousands" of hogs for tainted feed

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSWBT00688020070424

[rumpel]

32. and: N.C. hogs got food tainted with melamine

NICHOLE MONROE BELL
[e-mail]

Hogs at a western North Carolina farm have tested positive for melamine, the industrial chemical blamed for killing and sickening dogs and cats that ate it in their food.

North Carolina Department of Agriculture officials said that none of the hogs that ate the tainted food have entered the food chain for human consumption. The department has quarantined the farm, which has about 1,400 hogs, until it the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can advise what to do next.

The department declined to release the name of the farm. It said no other farms are believed to have been affected.

http://www.charlotte.com/295/story/97410.html

[Shallah Kali]

37. 'Well we know there is this possibly poisonous food out there but we won't tell you how to avoid it'

argh!

[junior college]

33. Good thing I've been on a raw diet for 15 years

Best of luck to everyone else.

http://nov55.com/hea/food.html

[doodadem]

35. Just wondering.......

At what point does this count as an act of terrorism by China against the U.S.?

[Javaman]

36. I get so tired of using this emote...

:banghead:

But it just applies to so many things these days.

[Shallah Kali]

38. Take Action from Dick Durbin - Tell the FDA to Clean Up The Pet Food Supply

http://ga3.org/campaign/petfoodsafety?qp_source=petfood_blogs

Suggested Letter - use above form to edit and send:

For more than 100 million Americans, a cat or dog is part of the family. That's why the recent pet food contamination crisis, a tragedy that has lead to the illness or deaths of thousands of pets across the country, has hit so close to home.

It's time for the Bush Administration and the FDA to act. The current pet food inspection system is deeply flawed, and the events of recent weeks have made that tragically clear.

Here are the 3 main problems that the FDA must address:

** Reporting delays. One of the companies that produced the contaminated pet food, Menu Foods, apparently knew of potential problems for 3 weeks before notifying the FDA. The FDA must demand timely reporting from pet food manufacturers -- and then punish companies that fail to alert them to problems.

** Inspections. In the last 3 and a-half years, less than one-third of pet food manufacturing plants has been inspected by the FDA and the Menu Foods facility, that produced much of the contaminated pet food, has never been inspected by the FDA. The FDA must work with states to establish uniform rules and regulations for inspecting all pet food manufacturing facilities.

** Information sharing. Thanks to blogs, non-government websites, and the news media, we were alerted to the pet food contamination crisis. But the FDA must create a be]tter process for collecting information to respond more quickly -- so veterinarians, pet owners, and other members of the public can alert the FDA more easily in the future.

The more than 100 million Americans who love and own pets take their responsibility seriously. Now it's time for the FDA to take their responsibility seriously as well.[/div