N.C. Hogs Got Food Tainted With Melamine (From China!)

Charlotte Observer ^ | Tuesday April 24, 2007 | Milwaukee_Guy

[Milwaukee_Guy]

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.

[randog]

...the easiest way to throw a country into chaos is to mess with the food supply.

This was the topic of discussion at lunch today...at a chinese restaurant.

[Enterprise]

"Notice how a bag marked “melamine” was included with the rice protein shipment?"

That, and some dopey workers can't read engrish.

[Enterprise]

I can guarantee that if in the future, I read a Hershey’s label “made in China” it will not be purchased.

[verum ago]

CWW is probably right, actually- the melamine was found in concentrations as high as 6.6% by weight, enough that granules were visible-- it's damn near impossible for that kind of concentration to be an accident, especially from use as a fertilizer. Just processing the wheat into gluten should remove basically any pesticides and fertilizers.

When pet food manufacturers make food they have to guarantee its nutritional content to be within certain values. One of the things they check for is protein content- and most tests for protein take advantage of the fact that the vast majority of the nitrogen in a food like that will be its protein content. So most protein tests are actually nitrogen content tests where the results are translated into protein content depending on what proteins are present. Melamine has a very high nitrogen content- 67%, and it's quite plausible that some unscrupulous Chinese manufacturer saw that melamine [prior to this incident and due to lack of research] was considered nontoxic and so threw some into into their protein products to favorably falsify the protein content and make their product appear to be of a higher quality.

[good old days]

ping

[iceskater]

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....

yet.

[arthurus]

We will probably never find out for sure if this stuff has entered the food supply directly. Don’t want to panic the people and all. If it has, the best we will get is rumors and noticing that a local hospital is treating an unusually large group of kidney patients, or realizing that several people that one knows are having kidney problems. In the meantime China is refusing to allow American inspectors into Chinese food plants and we are responding with more diplomacy. The first awareness of the problem should have got food and food product imports from China shut off with unloading freighters sequestered in the ports.

[arthurus]

Do you remember MelamineWare?

[Netizen]

That should take the FDA ten years or so! ;-D

That soon?

[arthurus]

Probably at least partially owned by the same Peoples’ Army.

[arthurus]

"The FDA does not have the resources or the up-to-date surveillance system that's needed," said Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety

Then shut off the imports!!

[arthurus]

Now it looks like a big rush by state agencies to check the human food supply.

THANK GOD FOR AMERICA'S FEDERAL STRUCTURE!!

[thiscouldbemoreconfusing]

Why the hell are we importing food from China?

Because we have become a nation lead by idiots put in office by even bigger idiots. We need to test people before allowing them to vote, if they can't read, don't let them vote, if they get their news from the msm, don't let them vote,...

[ex-snook]

and we think our greatest danger is Arabs blowing themselves up. Hell we’d buy our own suicide pill from China if someone could make a profit on it.

[abigailsmybaby]

Because its CHEAP. CHEAP trumps everything.

[browardchad]

On April 16, FDA launched a nationwide investigation tracing eight import entries identified as being shipped from the Chinese firm since July 2006.

If I'm deciphering this correctly, aside from the April 2 shipment to Wilbur-Ellis, there were seven other shipments from the Chinese firm in question since July 2006.

Shipments of what and to whom?

The (April 2) shipment to Wilbur-Ellis consisted primarily of rice protein concentrate in white bags, but also included one pink bag that was labeled, in part, with the word “melamine.”

On April 15, Wilbur-Ellis notified FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine about the suspect shipment.

So Wilbur Ellis waited 13 days, after they had shipped the protein to five customers, to notify the FDA. I guess that bag labeled "melamine" just didn't give them a clue. Too bad it didn't jump up and talk. ("Hey, over here, I'm melamine -- you know, like in the wheat gluten! Hey, pay attention!")

[Vicomte13]

Not in my political universe.

I will vote for people who will impose rationality in trade. That means restricting it.

[snowsislander]

Red China is a disgusting totalitarian state, and we should engage in no more trade with them.

Let them rot in their own poisoned system. We certainly don't need any more food items from Red China, no matter how inexpensively they are priced.

[mtbopfuyn]

North Carolina investigators are attempting to determine whether the melamine was absorbed into the meat of the pigs and whether it would eventually be safe to eat.

Hmm, lets see, enough was absorbed to kill the hogs so DUH! Coming soon to a homecooked meal near you.