from http://www.petconnection.com/blog/category/2007-food-recall/
“I’m not sure why it has taken a month for a lot of people in the media to get that having the pet-food recall isn’t “just” a pet story, you know, something to fill space with “what are those silly pet-loving people doing now?” between the latest Anna Nicole Smith is still dead update and whatever the Runaway Bride or Diapered Astronaut is doing now.
As we’ve pretty much said from Day One here on the Pet Connection, this is a story about what consumers have a right to know, about how veterinarians deserve to be respected and better integrated into the public-health system and, finally, it’s a story about global imports and food safety.
The Associated Press takes up the last thread (thanks, several readers):
WASHINGTON - Just 1.3 percent of imported fish, vegetables, fruit and other foods are inspected — yet those government inspections regularly reveal food unfit for human consumption.
Frozen catfish from China, beans from Belgium, jalapenos from Peru, blackberries from Guatemala, baked goods from Canada, India and the Philippines — the list of tainted food detained at the border by the Food and Drug Administration stretches on.
Add to that the contaminated Chinese wheat gluten that poisoned cats and dogs nationwide and led to a massive pet food recall, and you’ve got a real international pickle. Does the United States have the wherewithal to ensure the food it imports is safe?
They may be tainted, but by golly, the EU ensures that they meet straightness standards!