View Single Post
  #4  
Old May 17th 07, 07:41 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
PawsForThought
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 140
Default You've got to read this

Here's another interesting article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18698701/

SHANGHAI, China - China says checks on food exporters have turned up
no sign of a chemical blamed for the deaths of cats and dogs in North
America, and urged U.S. authorities to refrain from further action
against Chinese producers.

The government body responsible for overseeing food safety said it
accompanied U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors on visits to
two companies blamed for the chemical contamination.

The incidents involving Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development
Co. Ltd. and Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd. were "special
individual cases," the General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement viewed on its Web site
Wednesday.

U.S. inspectors said wheat gluten exported by the firms and used to
make pet food was tainted with a mildly toxic melamine and caused the
deaths of an unknown number of dogs and cats. That led to a recall of
154 brands of pet food contaminated with the chemical.

Chinese authorities have detained an undisclosed number of managers
from the two companies.

The statement said FDA inspectors also expressed satisfaction with the
quality controls and tracing measures in place at another exporter of
vegetable protein, Sinoglory, saying those met U.S. production
standards for similar products.

"China emphasizes that its determination to crackdown on law breaking
enterprises is firm and its policies are effective," said the
statement.

"We hope the American side will accurately and objectively deal with
problems among individual companies and not take stringent measures
against other Chinese companies producing the same type of products,"
it said."