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At least 360 dogs and one cat reportedly have died in the U.S. after eating chicken jerky pet treats made in China, even as claims of illnesses tied to the products have topped 2,200, federal veterinary health officials said.

WASHINGTON—A former research scientist was sentenced late yesterday to 60 months in prison for stealing trade secrets from Dow Chemical Company and selling them to companies in the People’s Republic of China, as well as committing perjury, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. for the Middle District of Louisiana. U.S. District Court Judge James J. Brady also sentenced Wen Chyu Liu, aka David W. Liou, 75, of Houston, to two years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $600,000 and pay a $25,000 fine. A...

Reports of illnesses in dogs given chicken jerky treats have spiked dramatically following a new government warning about pet snacThe federal Food and Drug Administration has logged at least 353 reports this year of illnesses tied to imported chicken jerky products, also sold as chicken tenders, chicken strips or chicken treats, a spokeswoman said. That’s up from 70 reports of illnesses -- and some deaths -- received in 2011 before the Center for Veterinary Medicine issued an updated warning on Nov. 18. Dog owners and veterinarians are reporting that animals have been stricken with a range of symptoms within hours...

Ugh. Hong Kong's English daily South China Morning Post has a distinctly unsavory dispatch from the Chinese media this morning: Government scientists have released research that millions of acres of Chinese agricultural land and over 12 million tons of Chinese grain are contaminated by toxic metal pollution, according to this week's edition of the China Economic Weekly, a state-run magazine. Last week, a separate article reported that 10% of Chinese rice contained excess cadmium, a heavy metal known to cause cancer.

NEW ORLEANS – Thousands of U.S. homes tainted by Chinese drywall should be gutted, according to new guidelines released Friday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The guidelines say electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall need to be removed. "We want families to tear it all out and rebuild the interior of their homes, and they need to start this to get their lives started all over again," said Inez Tenenbaum, chairwoman of the commission, the federal agency charged with making sure consumer products are safe. About 3,000 homeowners,...

New federal guidelines say thousands of U.S. homes tainted by Chinese drywall won't be safe unless they are completely gutted. The Consumer Product Safety Commission released the guidelines Friday. They say electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall must be removed. About 3,000 homeowners, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, have reported problems with the Chinese-made drywall. A large quantity of the drywall was imported during the housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes. It has been linked to corrosion of wiring, air conditioning units,...

China, fighting a health scandal over melamine found in milk and other food products, now says it is investigating melamine tableware, following reports it might be harmful to health when hot. Quality inspectors told Xinhua news agency they were organising tests of melamine tableware "following reports that some products contained poisonous ingredients." Melamine is an industrial compound used in making plastic chairs, countertops, tableware, flame retardants and even concrete. It was added by unscrupulous manufacturers to food to cheat nutrition tests due to its high nitrogen content. The melamine scandal has battered faith in China-made products, after a series of...

PORT ST. LUCIE — Martin and St. Lucie counties are two of nearly a dozen counties where complaints of possible exposure to the contaminated drywall in new homes have arisen. The problem may have been sparked by drywall imported during the local construction boom of 2004 and 2005. Some common symptoms are irritated eyes, coughing, sneezing, difficulty breathing, and symptoms similar to bronchitis and asthma. The contaminated Chinese drywall may be emitting one of several sulfur compounds including sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide. While exposure to fumes from sulfur dioxide can create irritation and breathing disorders, exposure to hydrogen sulfide...

Industry experts and businesspeople in China say that the industrial chemical has been routinely added to fish and animal feed to artificially boost protein readings. Reporting from Los Angeles and Shanghai--Melamine in Chinese-produced milk powder has sickened hundreds of thousands of children and added to a growing list of made-in-China foods banned across the globe.Now, some scientists and consumer advocates are raising concerns that fish from China may also be contaminated with the industrial chemical. China is the world's largest producer of farm-raised seafood, exporting billions of dollars worth of shrimp, catfish, tilapia, salmon and other fish.The U.S. imported about...

90 Percent of U.S. Infant Formula May Be Contaminated with Melamine; FDA Abruptly Declares Chemical Safe for Babies Saturday, November 29, 2008 by: Mike Adams, NaturalNews Editor Key concepts: Melamine, Infant formula and The FDA (NaturalNews) Up to 90 percent of the infant formula sold in the United States may be contaminated with trace amounts of melamine, the toxic chemical linked to kidney damage, according to recent tests. The FDA's test results, which the agency hid from the public and only released after the Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that Nestle, Mead Johnson and Enfamil...

SOUTH Korea has ordered 23 tonnes of Chinese processed egg products to be destroyed after they were found to be tainted with melamine, the latest in a series of health scares blighting the 'made in China' brand. The move comes after South Korea found melamine in 10 Chinese dairy products earlier this month and ordered them to be taken off shop shelves. Tens of thousands of Chinese children have fallen ill and at least four have died from drinking milk formula contaminated with melamine, which has since been found in a series of drinks and foods and led to products...

Connecticut officials say cookies made in China that were contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine were found at a West Hartford food shop, and they're warning people not to eat them. The Department of Consumer Protection says its investigators found Koala's March creme-filled cookies at A Dong market on Friday, and testing showed melamine amounts above limits set by the federal government. SNIP Michigan-based Lotte USA Inc. is recalling the cookies from U.S. shelves and says it's not aware of any illnesses associated with the products. Connecticut officials say they suspect other stores in the state may have been selling...

Extremely high concentrations of pesticide have been detected in a pack of frozen green beans imported from China by Nichirei Foods Inc., the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Tokyo metropolitan government announced Wednesday. The beans were found to be contaminated with high levels of the organic phosphate pesticide dichlorvos. A 56-year-old housewife in Hachioji, western Tokyo, was hospitalized Sunday after she started eating the beans before spitting them out. The metropolitan government said the beans were ingen green beans and the package contained 250 grams of them. The ministry is warning customers not to eat this brand of...

Brazil bans Chinese food products 10/08/2008 | 02:56 AM BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil says it is indefinitely banning all Chinese food imports due to safety concerns. Brazil's food safety officials say Tuesday they are acting in light of the four Chinese children killed and 54,000 sickened by contaminated milk products. The milk crisis is China has led nations around the globe to ban or recall Chinese products. The ban will have little effect on the food supply in Brazil, which imported just US$120 million in food products from China last year.

Melamine Found in Chocolate Products From China South Korea's food watchdog has detected quantities of melamine, an industrial chemical, in chocolate products from foodstuff giants Nestle SA, Mars Inc. and South Korea's Lotte that were manufactured in China, Yonhap News reported Saturday. The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said 2.38 parts per million (ppm) and 1.78 ppm of the toxic substance was discovered in samples of M&M's Milk and Peanut Snickers Fun Size products, respectively, from Mars Korea. A Kit Kat bar from Nestle Korea was also found to contain 2.89 ppm of melamine, the agency said. The...

Cadbury recall all chocolate made in China over fears it may contain contaminated milk British chocolate giant Cadbury today ordered a recall of its Chinese-made products after revealing tests have ‘cast doubt’ on its safety. It is feared the sweets could contain melamine-laced milk, which has been blamed for killing four children in China and making around 50,000 ill. The 11 recalled confectionery items - made at Cadbury's factory in Beijing - are distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia. Doubts: 11 products distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia were recalled ....Authorities say suppliers might have added melamine, which...

WASHINGTON - U.S. regulators warned the public on Friday not to consume seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products that were made in China because of concerns they may be contaminated with melamine. The Food and Drug Administration said the products were recalled by King Car Food Industrial Co Ltd "due to possible contamination with melamine."

A Burlingame company is recalling a candy product after the California Department of Public Health warned consumers Friday of a harmful chemical compound detected in some candies. White Rabbit Candy, sold by the Burlingame-based Queensway Foods Company, is being recalled after testing detected the presence of melamine in some candies at levels up to 520 parts per million, according to the department of public health. The candy was produced by China, which has been associated with contaminated infant formula and other milk protein products containing melamine. The harmful compound has also been associated with a large recall of pet food,...

Two baby orang-utans and a lion cub have become the latest victims of China's contaminated milk crisis. The animals, at at Hangzhou Zoo near Shanghai, developed kidney stones after being fed milk powder tainted with the industrial chemical melamine.

Australia and New Zealand issued recalls Thursday for an imported Chinese candy that was found to contain the industrial chemical melamine. New Zealand Food Safety Authority spokesman Geoff Allen said Thursday morning that he expected the White Rabbit Creamy Candies to be off shelves within 24 hours. "This product contains sufficiently high levels of melamine which may, in some individuals, cause health problems such as kidney stones," deputy chief executive Sandra Daly said in a statement posted Wednesday on the agency's Web site. "The levels we have found in these products are unacceptable."