Posted on 04/13/2007 6:14:54 AM PDT by Milwaukee_Guy
"...sources tell CBS News that the FDA had tracked at least one suspect batch of wheat gluten into the human food supply, quietly quarantined some products and notified the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention to watch for new patients admitted to hospitals with renal or kidney failure."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Note to all: These all all items from only March 2007. Just one month!
The FDA says they can check only 1% of the imports.
How much of what is getting through from China?
Latest from, http://www.petconnection.com/blog/category/2007-food-recall/
A personal take? The fact that there is still contaminated pet food out there on store shelves, and that the FDA seemed to imply at the hearing yesterday that there could be more recalls, are the two things worrying pet owners the most. From Joy at Dogster:
This just adds to that wonderful trust we all have for these guys, doesn’t it? And notice the pet food industry lackey says that the main problem is communication. No, the problem is that some in the pet food industry import food supplies from countries with no or little control over their safety or quality.
No sign of a late Friday press release drop - yet. Post or email if you hear about anything we should know.
ChemNutra CEO: Rat Poison Never Found in Wheat Gluten, Cuts Ties With Supplier
ChemNutra, the US broker of wheat gluten, sent us an email about their reactions and a timeline related to the pet food recall.
Interesting items from the ChemNutra timeline:
Aminopterin (rat poison) identified in Menu Foods products was never found in the wheat gluten. So where did it come from?
Menu Foods told them they were changing wheat gluten suppliers because of “water absorption factor”, not because of contamination.
Menu Foods suspected 4 toxins for more than a week before issuing the recall.
Email highlights are below:
We are appalled and distressed that Menu Foods took so long to recall its products, although it clearly suspected there was a problem for weeks prior to the first recall. And it wasn’t until eight days before they issued their first recall that Menu Foods told us that wheat gluten was one of many ingredients it was investigating… We had no idea that melamine was an issue until being notified by the FDA on March 29. In fact, we had never heard of melamine before… We assure you that we will never again do business with the supplier of the suspect wheat gluten, XuZhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd.
Entire letter after the jump. The timeline they referenced is here.
Dear Pet Owners, Pet Food Businesses & all who love animals:
We at ChemNutra want to express our support and condolences for pet owners whose cats have fallen ill or died as the probable result of contaminated pet food
produced by Menu Foods, as well as pet owners throughout North America who have become fearful about their pets’ food following news of the contamination. We also offer our empathy for the difficulties imposed on pet food businesses that were negatively impacted by this situation.
The possibility that any animal fell ill or died because of an ingredient we may have supplied to Menu Foods saddens us and also angers us because it means that
ChemNutra has victimized as well, by our own supplier. In fact, news reports and congressional testimony provide increasing evidence of this possibility.
We are appalled and distressed that Menu Foods took so long to recall its products, although it clearly suspected there was a problem for weeks prior to the first
recall. And it wasn’t until eight days before they issued their first recall that Menu Foods told us that wheat gluten was one of many ingredients it was investigating.
Moreover, here at ChemNutra, we are concerned that we may have been the victim of deliberate and mercenary contamination for the purpose of making the wheat gluten we purchased appear to have a higher protein content than it did, because melamine causes a false high result on protein tests. We had no idea that melamine was an issue until being notified by the FDA on March 29. In fact, we had never heard of melamine before. It’s simply not a chemical even on the radar screen for food ingredient suppliers. You can find more information on the timeline of events that occurred since late February here.
We assure you that we will never again do business with the supplier of the suspect wheat gluten, XuZhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd.
XuZhou Anying had been recommended to us by a long-time reliable source in China, and presented what appeared to be legitimate proof that its product was safe. We hope that U.S. and Chinese government investigations of XuZhou Anying reveal what actually occurred.
ChemNutra has an excellent record of compliance with all applicable regulations, but please know that as additional product safety recommendations are developed by the FDA, the Pet Food Institute and our customers, we will implement them immediately.
Steve Miller
CEO
ChemNutra
Sorry! I was trying to make a point.
_______________________________________________________
Very good point, thank you.
You are very welcome!
Getting tired of all this yet?
I find it breathtaking at the almost daily revelations coming out of this tragedy.
Four weeks now and I believe much more will come out.
Wow, I seem to have hit a bit of a nerve. Listen, I’m not saying China’s our buddy; they are indeed evil communists and we need to be wary of them in many ways. But falling for made up “speeches” just makes us look like a bunch of gullible dolts.
As for your responses - please try to remember that foaming at the mouth is no substitute for a cogent argument.
No problem.
[So where did I have dinner today? A Chinese buffet? Really? Yes...]
I really hope we are not over-reacting to all this info. Just to err on the side of caution, I shall over-react.....and check every product in my home, and discard every suspect product. (Just threw out a bunch of Ramen noodles and some bread mixes with wheat gluten)
We have a wood products production plant. We produce a lot of wood shavings as a by-product. The local Hutterite communities raise turkeys and chickens. They trade their poultry for the shavings, which they use for bedding for the turkeys and chickens. The natural turpentine in the wood acts an as antibiotic. (the “barter system” really works for us.)
I have not spent one dollar for any poultry product in years.....eggs included. The “colony” birds are all free-range and taste like chicken used to taste.....wonderful!
We’ve been to China several times on business trips. I’ve eaten nearly everything there, and have never been ill from the food.......disgusted a few times, but never ill. I do draw the line at anything raw, however. We are going again the end of April. Perhaps I should be a bit more cautious. (hopefully without being rude to our hosts....unforgiveable in the Asian culture.)
Speaking of rudeness and culture. I am always amused at the Chinese at the end of the interminable meals. A meal there lasts for hours and hours. They all have ivory toothpicks that they carry with them. They pick their teeth. But to avoid offending anyone, they cover their mouths with their hands while doing so.
One thing I have noticed on our trips to China is the massive road building and infra-stucture projects. There is very little traffic on all these six-lane highways throughout the country side. (the cities are another story...incredible traffic) I once asked our translator/driver/bodyguards once why the highways were so developed. His answer? “For the military.”
That certainly gave me pause for thought.
I feel a need to let you know that most Chinese (at least the many we have met and dealt with) are warm and gracious people, eager to please, family oriented, and pro-American.
Their government is another story. I believe we have a legitimate concern there.
Quix, I included you in the ping because I know you know what I am talking about.
I like to dip them in the Thai hot sauce, but watch out for the Oriental horseradish. VaVoom!
Need a change of pace from the mandatory Friday Fish Fry we have in Milwaukee. The best places have great potato pancakes topped with sour cream or applesauce. Ausgeseichnet!
Tom Clancey had a book about a USA/Russo/China war. IIRC he mentioned the “roads without cars”.
Thanks.
Oriental horseradish will certainly clear up any sinus problems..........or totally destroy them!
....”roads without cars”......
That’s what we saw. Rather eerie.
BTW - Always been a city boy but one year I grew a bunch of horseradish in our small garden.
Went to grind it up in a blender with some vinager and a little salt.
I never have seen anything completely stench out a house like that. Every 15 minutes or so we had to run outside to literally catch our breath.
Uh oh.....Will someone call 911 for me, hurry!!!
Just re-read your post and noticed you mentioned potato pancakes with sour cream/applesauce. I lived in Germany from 1945 to 1955 (yep, I’m old). It was a standard on our dinner table. Still love it. A great side dish for sauerbraten, along with fried red cabbage and apples.
Yes, Wasabi.
My barometer of a good German resturant is the quality of their roasted duck and the obligatory spinach salad.
Oh... just great.
You knew this was coming, right?
I keep seeing the words “FILTHY” and “UNSAFE”. This is disconcerting. I don’t think I’ll be eating anymore fish from Jewel.
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