The investigation of the specific ingredient that poisoned several pets across the U.S. the Food and Drug administration discovered melamine, an industrial pesticide, which is formed in the body of mammals that have ingested cyromazine. What was reported initially as tainted wheat gluten or rice protein has been discovered to be plain wheat flour fraudulently packaged as the more expensive ingredients. The disturbing news doesn’t stop there.
The tainted wheat flour has been reported to be fed to pond raised fish marked for human consumption in the U.S. According to the FDA the worst case scenario is that the levels consumed wouldn’t be enough to cause any noticeable effects. According to the wiki passage on its toxicity:
“Little is known with respect to Melamine toxicity in human subjects. Animal studies have shown that melamine is not metabolized in rats, and is excreted unchanged. Ingestion of melamine may lead to reproductive damage, or bladder or kidney stones, which can lead to bladder cancer.”
The pet food industry according to the government does not need regulation, but after these incidents where both pet and human food were so easily contaminated, lawmakers are proposing better tracking of ingredients across boarders. The tainted ingredients could have been tested before it made its way into the food chain, and if the food industry was better regulated.
The Chinese pet food company responsible for the tainted ingredients, Binzhou Futian Biology Technology, was shutdown by authorities back when the news first spread. The manager responsible, Tian Feng, was arrested and denies any wrongdoing.
Of melamine’s many uses which include fertilizers, pigment Yellow 150, glues, and flame retardants, it was considered not a concern back in 1999 by the EPA. While the Food Safety and Inspection Service provided a test for detecting melamine in animal tissue marked for human consumption, these tests could of provided additional protection if applied to animal feed.
The actual number of confirmed pet related deaths due to tainted pet food is 17 cats and dogs.
Source doc washingtonpost, wiki, cnn
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