Posted on 05/30/2007 7:00:06 PM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
The same industrial chemical that led to a massive pet food recall was used in animal feed ingredients made by a U.S. company, health officials said Wednesday.
The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration was the first indication that a U.S. company had used melamine as an animal feed ingredient. Agency officials said that melamine and related compounds were used to bind feed for cattle, sheep and goats, or fish and shrimp.
Previously, the problem of melamine in animal feed was thought to be contained to China, where manufacturers had added it to wheat gluten.
Melamine is not approved as an additive for the feed. It has a number of industrial uses, including as a binding agent and flame retardant. It's also used as fertilizer in some parts of the world, but not in the U.S.
U.S. officials said the use of melamine in animal feed posed no threat to human health. In China, they said, the chemical was probably added to show greater levels of protein.
The FDA alerted feed manufacturers that ingredients containing melamine and related compounds were found in products made by Tembec BTLSR Inc. of Toledo, Ohio, and used by Uniscope Inc. of Johnstown, Colo.
Tembec makes two products, AquaBond and Aqua-Tec II, which it distributes for Uniscope. The products are used in fish feed.
Uniscope also makes a product for livestock feed called Xtra-Bond, and it uses ingredients produced by Tembec. The FDA advised feed manufacturers and others not to use the products and to contact the two manufacturers.
The agency also advised manufacturers to recall feed made from AquaBond or AquaTech II. Official did not make the same recommendation for feed made from Xtra-Bond, based on the low levels of melamine and related compounds.
Officials said they had no idea how much feed contains the ingredients in question.
The FDA learned on March 15 that certain pet foods were sickening and killing cats and dogs. The agency found contaminants in vegetable proteins imported from China. The discovery prompted thousands of news stories, some congressional hearings and much scrutiny of China's manufacturing processes.
FDA officials said Uniscope contacted the agency about two weeks ago. The officials could not say how long Tembec had used melamine in the manufacturing process.
"All I can tell you is that this came to our attention on May 18 when Uniscope let us know what they found, and we followed that up," Acheson said. "What Tembec knew, didn't know, and what their activities were is part of the investigation."
Uniscope officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment. John Valley, an executive vice president at Tembec, said melamine was an element in the product made for Uniscope.
"That binder in turn is a small component of the overall fish pellets. It's a minor part of a minor part, if you will, so the concentrations are very low," Valley said.
Valley said that in response to concerns that have been raised about melamine byproducts, the Toledo company stopped using melamine in any form in spring.
"We believed that for the intended uses, we were making a compliant product," Valley said.
Does this mean we have to execute the head of the FDA? I mean, a billion Chinamen can’t be Wong.
With all the crap they are putting in our food, it’s no surprise that diseases like asthma, alzheimers, ADD, etc are on the rise. Without adequate labeling, causes are impossible to trace.
No in the good old USA maybe we need to off the head of homeland security, since he's not doing his job no one would miss him.
I would like to know where the FDA was when this started happening? Oh, I forget. They are political.
I would like to know where the FDA was when this started happening?Making deals for importing more of your food from China so their pet illegals will be forced to take your job since the ag. related jobs will be gone.
Maybe it makes people fat.
Didn’t I read somewhere that they want to start importing chicken? What the heck do we need their chicken for? What is next, dog meat?
ping
>>>What is next, dog meat?
Isn’t that McDonalds?
/wiza gurl
Come on. The free market will police itself. Might cost quite a few people their lives, of course, but ya gotta break a few eggs, doncha know.
I remember back in the late 70’s Jack in the Box was trying to introduce horsemeat from Australia in a burger. Of course some meats are actually better than cattle and in many countries cattle is either sacred, too expensive like Japan or not available to many farmers like in China where its easier to have pigs, dogs, cats, monkey, rat as a staple meat protein.
Here in the US if we had not decimated the buffalo herds we could very easily instead of beefstakes or beef burgers we may have instead buffalo burgers, and ironically buffalo is a better beef. Myself living in Alaska I prefer Bullwinkleburgers.
Fast food—Mac’s is the worst, I think.
Ever put a McDonald’s regular hamburger next to an IN ‘N OUT burger? No comparison. Okay, now I am hungry but not for McD’s.
“Does this mean we have to execute the head of the FDA”?<<<<
Give him the same treatment we gave Sandy Berger, that will fix him.
Thanks for the ping mom.
Oh come on now we have freepers that say that isn't so because he's a chemist!
Sodium benzoate, Prevents mold in bread, a preservative! A little Sodium benzoate here a little there a little everywhere...
Sodium benzoate is used as a preservative, effectively killing most yeasts, bacteria, and fungi. It is effective only in acidic conditions (pH < 3.6) making its use most prevalent in foods such as preserves, salad dressings (vinegar), carbonated drinks (carbonic acid), jams (citric acid), fruit juices (citric acid), pickles (vinegar), and Chinese food sauces (soy, mustard, and duck). It is also found in alcohol-based mouthwash and silver polish. Sodium benzoate is used in many soft drinks and can be identified on the label of the bottle or can as 'sodium benzoate' or E211. The taste of sodium benzoate cannot be detected by around 25 percent of the population, but for those who can taste the chemical, it tends to be perceived as sweet, salty, or sometimes bitter.
It is also used in fireworks as a fuel in whistle mix, a powder which imparts a whistling noise when compressed into a tube and ignited.
It is found naturally in cranberries, prunes, greengage plums, cinnamon, ripe cloves, and apples. Concentration as a preservative is limited by the FDA in the U.S. to 0.1% by weight though organically-grown cranberries and prunes can conceivably contain levels exceeding this limit. The International Programme on Chemical Safety found no adverse effects in humans at doses of 647-825 mg/kg of body weight per day.[1][2]
Cats have a significantly lower tolerance against benzoic acid and its salts than rats and mice.[3] Sodium benzoate is, however, allowed as an animal food additive at up to 0.1%, according to AFCO's official publication.[4]
It's your choice Sodium benzoate vs the natural course of spoilage!
Is it concern to feed the many or the bottom line, or both etc?
I have a buffalo farm near me. I prefer buffalo to angus.
McDonald’s isn’t comparable to anything. I think it is imitation.
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