By Judi McLeod
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
ChemNutra, the Las Vegas-based company at the heart of the ongoing contaminated pet food scandal, exported from China tainted wheat gluten that was used to make fish meal in Canada.
During a Tuesday FDA/USDA media conference, live blogged by www.ptconnection.com, David Acheson, the FDA's assistant commissioner for food protection, confirmed ChemNutra as the export source of the tainted fish meal.
AP's Andrew Bridges asked Acheson: "Who exported the wheat gluten or purported wheat gluten to the Canadians, and why are you learning this only now?
"It came from the Chinese firms," Acheson responded.
"Who imported it and re-exported it?" Bridges probed.
Acheson first answered that it came through ChemNutra, later adding "brokered" through "ChemNutra, directly to Canada."
"It was only when we started to get into the depth of the records from ChemNutra and started to look outside of the United States piece that this came to light," Acheson said.
When asked by Bridges "does this disturb you that ChemNutra didn't disclose this", Acheson said he'd have to talk to "our investigators as to the questions that they specifically asked of ChemNutra."
"I'm not aware that ChemNutra were withholding information from us deliberately, Acheson said.
Fish follow hogs and chickens in being fed food spiked with an industrial chemical linked to the ongoing recall of pet foods.
At the Tuesday media conference, federal officials revealed what some would call startling information as though it were old hat: It is wheat flour not wheat gluten that is behind the pet food recall.
"The Canadian-made meal included what was purported to be wheat gluten, a protein source, imported from China. (Andrew Bridges, Associated Press Writer, May 8, 2007). "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.
"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.
"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.
Canadian officials are apparently aware of the latest finding.
Of the ChemNutra imported wheat gluten, the U.S. used it to make pet food while Canada used it to make fishmeal.
"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 ingredients came from two Chinese firms: Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. and Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd.
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.
The imported poisoned Chinese foodstuff story could run along the theme, "If they don't get you with pork tenderloin or Chicken Supreme, you can't turn to fish."
Meanwhile, we can't say North American officials don't believe in recycling. The trend now seems to be "Re-use, Re-New, Re-Poison.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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