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To: ApplegateRanch

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=2B10D1F6-E7F2-99DF-34DAAAC1622FE3CE

Per this Scientific American article, cyanuric acid can be caused by bacterial degradation of melamine, but may have been added separately to the foods which turned out to be toxic. I tend to think it must have been added separately, because all the reports I’ve read have said that addition of melamine has been widespread for around 15 years. If the only cyanuric acid in these pet foods was that which results from degradation of melamine, we’d have seen a big rash of kidney failure and death years ago. And the melamine addition would have stopped a long time ago, because there would have been a big rash of deaths of food animals in China, who’ve been getting melamine-laced feed for many years.

As awful as this has been for thousands of pet owners, and for pet food manufacturers who are taking a huge financial hit, I think we should recognize that there’s no evidence the Chinese protein processors had any idea that anything they were doing could cause serious harm to animals eating the food that the protein went into. They’d had years of experience both within China and with exports confirming that melamine didn’t cause any detectable health problems. And as the Scientific American article points out, Americans have been swallowing cyanuric acid in pool water for a long time, with no ill effects, so presumably the managers of any Chinese factories that started using it to clean equipment or for some other purpose that resulting in its getting into the protein, had no reason to think it was dangerous either.

It’s no doubt been a hard lesson for them too, with big financial hits to their business and who knows what sort of response from government officials. Your average Chinese industrial worker already has a standard of living that would qualify as well below the poverty line in the US, and many of the affected workers are certainly getting their standard of living knocked down even lower as a result of this, at least temporarily.


142 posted on 05/01/2007 1:12:07 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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To: GovernmentShrinker

Thanks for that. Being retired, I have to get back to work, before the boss starts complaining, but I’ll read the liked article next break.

Note: It was easier when I only had a boss for 40 hours a week, instead of 168.LOL

“Tired, retired, still tired.”


143 posted on 05/01/2007 1:17:11 PM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Islam: a Satanically Transmitted Disease, spread by unprotected intimate contact with the Koranus.)
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To: GovernmentShrinker

My understanding is that the problem with the recent pet deaths has to do with improper mixing of melamine in gluten — i.e., in concentrations much higher than they typically used in the past. That is to say, it may very well have been in the food suppy and in our pet food for some time, but not in such quantities so as to be noticeable and killing large numbers of cats and dogs. But even if you are right, also note that both melamine and cyanuric acid can have harmful effects (other than kidney failure and death).


150 posted on 05/01/2007 2:04:01 PM PDT by eri atlov
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To: GovernmentShrinker
And the melamine addition would have stopped a long time ago, because there would have been a big rash of deaths of food animals in China, who’ve been getting melamine-laced feed for many years.

Ummm, I think they're slaughtered well before they can develop a chronic condition. A year, maybe two at most.

OTOH Fluffy has been eating contaminated pet food for 10-15 years...

159 posted on 05/01/2007 2:36:09 PM PDT by null and void (The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.)
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