F.D.A. Says Livestock Were Fed Pet Food With Suspect Chemical

US - F.D.A. officials were cited as saying Tuesday that melamine was in food given to hogs and chickens in several states, and the Food and Drug Administration is trying to determine if the animals entered the human food supply.

The story goes on to say that several thousand hogs have been quarantined and are being tested. The affected farms are in California, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and possibly Ohio. A poultry farm in Missouri is also under investigation.

Hog urine has tested positive for melamine in several of those states after it was determined that the animals ate salvaged pet food that originated in factories that produced the tainted food. Stephen Sundlof, the F.D.A. ’s chief veterinarian, was cited as saying in a conference call with reporters that i t is common in the United States to take pet food that does not meet quality standards and reconstitute it into livestock feed..

Steven Cohen, a spokesperson with USDA FSIS was cited as saying in a statement that the inspection service was trying to determine whether the hog farms in the states other than California actually fed the material to their animals, And that hogs that were confirmed to have eaten the tainted food were processed at a federally inspected facility in California."

When asked if any of the hogs had entered the human food supply, Sundlof was quoted as saying,"At this point, I don't have a definitive answer other than to say that the issue is being addressed.'' Michael Rogers ,who directs field investigations for the F.D.A. was cited as saying that there were no direct shipments of either of the two ingredients to firms that make food for humans or for animals used as food.

Sundlof was further cited as saying that a second, related chemical called cyanuric acid also has been found to contaminate rice protein concentrate samples.

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Source: AnimalNet

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