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.
Isn’t that the truth!
You deserve the Post of the Day!
You are right. I’d like to see China out of the equation and possibly Mexico too.
It’s all about the “money”
I figured this was coming, based on what was said in other articles about fish meal. We just had some wild salmon for dinner this week. No more farm-raised fish for us!
This is the first time I’ve seen an explanation for this melamine contamination.
All along, I thought it was an accidental contamination - now, this article says that it was deliberate tampering to fool the chemical inspection tests. Wow.
So why haven’t our Western governments (Canada, US, etc.) read the riot act to China and demanded an explanation?
Too busy kissing their ass, obviously: our health clearly comes a distant second to those all-imoprtant corpoate profits.
:-(
You nailed it.
“Farmed fish fed contaminated material”
Just d*mn.
I feed my turtle a pellet made for farm raised fish...
Our money!
Am I the only one that reflects upon the account of WJC and the AIDS spiked/tainted Prison blood from Arkansas in his early political days?
It seems the more we read about this Melamine/Gluten/Pet Food situation it goes back into the early ‘90s.
Coincidence this all started at the time the “bent one” assumed the roll of POTUS? Chicom money flowed openly and now we find out about Clintonism’s in their puffing out product with poisonous Melamine to up their profits. Chinese Copycat Crime?
Too much coincidence here....I now remove my tinfoil hat, comb my hair, brush my tooth and head for the store to purchase pet food.
I don’t have a problem with these big corporations making lots of money, even obscene amounts of money. My problem is when they do it at the expense of our health and safety.
...DILUTION IS THE SOLUTION...
The Feds are full of crap on this one...
reminds me of the movie Erin Brockovich and her offer to let the PG&E lawyer drink bottled water from the Hinkley wells.
Time to drop down a level or two on my food pyramid. Ah, it’s bourbon, chocolate and cigars for dinner tonight.
How about wieners? Hmmmmmmm, i wonder.
You don’t wanna know what’s in them.
bump...
Appeasement. No one wants to admit the 4th reich is now a reality. In these here times .....
Thanks for the ping and finding the story.
Just gets worser...........and worser.
“The FDA is considering enforcement options”
Like, how about, not letting any food or products be imported from china?
Sounds good to me. They can keep their antifreeze medicine, their leaded dishes and baby bibs too. Oh and lets not forget the seafood with drugs and antibiotics that are illegal in this country too.
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