Posted on 05/08/2007 1:30:11 PM PDT by mom4kittys
WASHINGTON - Farmed fish were fed meal spiked with an industrial chemical linked to the ongoing recall of pet foods, though the contamination level was probably too low to pose a danger to anyone who may have eaten the fish, federal health officials said Tuesday.
The Canadian-made meal included what was purported to be wheat gluten, a protein source, imported from China. The material was actually wheat flour spiked by the chemical melamine and related, nitrogen-rich compounds to make it appear more protein rich than it was, officials said.
After pigs and chickens, the farmed fish mark the third food animal given contaminated feed. The level of contamination is expected to be too low to pose any danger to human health, said Dr. David Acheson, the FDA's assistant commissioner for food protection.
It wasn't immediately clear if any of the farmed fish entered the food supply. However, Acheson said at least one firm's fish were still too young and small to be sold. Investigators were visiting other U.S. aquaculture farms that used the contaminated feed.
Melamine, a chemical found in plastics and pesticides and not approved for use in pet or human in the U.S., contaminated pet food that either sickened or killed an unknown number of dogs and cats. Since March 16, more than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled because they were contaminated with melamine.
Acheson said that fish samples would be screened for signs of melamine. "Depending upon what we find in that testing, that is going to drive the next steps," Acheson said.
Canadian officials are aware of the finding, Acheson said.
"We used it to make pet food. They used it to make fish meal," he told reporters.
Federal health and food officials have said some 20 million chickens and thousands of hogs also were fed feed contaminated by melamine. As with the fish, they said the risk to human health is very low.
U.S. investigators also have learned that the purported Chinese wheat gluten and a second ingredient, rice protein concentrate, were actually simple wheat flour. The flour was spiked with melamine and related, nitrogen-rich compounds to make it appear more protein rich than it was. In tests, nitrogen levels are measured to gauge the overall protein content of food ingredients.
"What we discovered is these are not wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate but in fact are wheat flour contaminated by melamine," Acheson said.
The FDA is considering enforcement options, he added. The ingredients came from two Chinese firms: Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. and Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd.
First pigs, then chickens, now fish.
Glad to see the FDA is protecting our food sources, etc.
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But they THINK there are no problems here.
Most fresh salmon is farmed, unless it is labeled organic or wild (with double or triple the price).
Well you might not be able to eat the potatoes, but at least you could slice them thin and make a nice melamine coutertop with them.
We need a new Upton Sinclair.
Add into that fruits and vegies because of 'Colony Collapse Disorder' The Honey Bees are now dying, and they pollinate Blueberries, Melons, Broccoli (which I detest but hey to each their own). What's gonna be left? The stuff I canned last year, it's about all their is left to trust. At least I know where that food came from (my garden) and what was put on it.
You had to say it didn’t you! ~LOL
Wild caught Fish and sweet potatoes.
It is what my Labs eat in kibble form. Dick Van Patten.
I enjoy yams/sweet potatoes in root form cooked with chicken (free range) or game hens in chicken broth with lotsa fresh thyme and rosemary you can brown and simmer or oven cook.
Just keeps getting better!
I meant to say ‘that THERE’ is to trust, not ‘their’. Never try to type and talk on the phone at the same time.
My teachers are spinning in ‘their’ graves right now
Congress can move fast when it wants to screw the American people from getting drugs at the lowest cost but drags their feet when it is all about our food/ingredients.
Don’t you know only business gets the good deal—the American families have to eat what these crooks dish out. Taxes and herding the masses is their most important agenda. Rue is the day a common man can get something cheaper in another state by shopping over the internet.
Government is working hard to capture the taxes they are missing by internet shoppers but seem to ignore that at the same time they farm your job (revenue) out of state or overseas to get the cheaper wage.
When is, “what is good for the goose going to be good for the gander”?
sardines are small, pelagic, and short-lived.
sardines are small, pelagic, and short-lived.
Ditto.
Moonpies & RC Cola. :-)
The amount of help bees provide for polination is overrated. These are also polinated through the air and other insects, though the yields may be down. I am sure the virus or whatever will be found, or the bees will develop a natural immunity and repopulate.
Seriously though, the food supply is so intertwined that it’s difficult to think of anything totally unaffected.
Strawberries dipped in dark chocolate sounds like a healthy meal to me!
We thought al-Qaeda would do us in.
Now we see the major culprit is corporate greed.
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