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To: Flavius
The Department of Agriculture (in April, 2006) certified China as eligible to export processed chicken meat to the United States — but with one caveat. The chicken has to be American.

In other words, American chicken will travel across the ocean once and return cooked and canned - to be sent on its way to a supermarket shelf near you.

Not surprising: an AP article last week cited poultry products as the leading Chinese agricultural export to the U.S. I think American chicken is most likely to return as something that appears on quite a few pet food labels: chicken meal. As with wheat gluten and rice protein, it's the processing (extraction/grinding/drying) that pushes up the price, not the raw product, and of course, the shipping costs on dried products that require only a lightweight sack make the Chinese imports even more cost-effective.

After cats, small dogs seem to be most at risk from this adulteration. I've got one, and though her dry food doesn't contain any of these products, it's one of the most popular premium brands, and does contain other "meals" and "proteins" which may also be Chinese imports. I'm switching her to another brand via mail order, but, although the ingredients (or lack of some) seem like a safer bet, there just aren't any guarantees for any of these foods right now, and, despite Durbin's grandstanding, I doubt that situation will change anytime soon.

146 posted on 04/19/2007 6:18:54 AM PDT by browardchad
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To: browardchad

Is it really profitable to ship AMERICAN chicken over there that HUMANS consume? I doubt it. I suspect the chicken sent there is low grade junk to be used for pet food. Pet food is over priced. Chicken is rather cheap.


160 posted on 04/19/2007 11:09:50 AM PDT by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God) .)
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