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Contaminated Pork intended for Human Food Chain

pax

By pax
in Kitchen Consumer

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pax

pax

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am kind of surprised I haven't seen this on here. Maybe this is not the right spot and if it isn't, I apologize. Just in case y'all are not aware, there is a huge pet food recall happening globally.

Essentially, various grain glutens have been adulterated with a product called melamine, which is poisonous to most of the living things you'd pet in the course of a day, including your kids and partners. Up until a few days ago, the problem was thought to be limited to pet food.

This is no longer the case. Below is part of one random article. There are many more if you use Google News.

I don't mean to be an alarmist but forewarned is forearmed, right?

Here is the FDA's link about the dog food recall. At this point, they don't seem to have anything on line about the pork, but I expect it's because it's the weekend. I wish I'd thought to post this before y'all made breakfast this morning. Well, anyway...

Mercury News

State issues pork warning

PET TOXIN FOUND IN PIGS FROM STANISLAUS COUNTY FARM

By Linda Goldston

Mercury News

State and federal officials warned the public Friday not to eat any pork processed at the American Hog Farm in Stanislaus County since April 3 and warned there may be contaminated pork products from other custom-slaughter plants.

The warning came after officials traced animal feed tainted with melamine to the hog farm. Melamine, an industrial chemical detected in wheat gluten and rice protein imported from China, is the substance the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has linked to the deaths and illnesses of cats and dogs in the largest pet food recall in American history. The hog farm purchased "salvage" pet food for its hogs from a company that said it was unaware of the contamination when the feed was sold.

Take good care and support your local CSA!

Cheers,

Celia

Edited by pax (log)
“Don't kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!”
pax

pax

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I'm guessing "the grain of salt" means you don't think it's worth worrying about. I'm a tad worried, I'll confess. Not all systems red, but enough to throw my custom cut bacon in the freezer until I ring the butcher and ask...

I'd love to hear why you don't think it's necessary to worry. I really am not trying to be a worry monger, but there's a lot of dead animals, yummy bacon pigs included. And the FDA recalls are real.

So help a bacon craving chickie out and tell me why it's bullshit to check it out. :biggrin:

“Don't kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!”
rooftop1000

rooftop1000

Posted
Posted

Well if I were to drop dead ....better Bacon than a Bus

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

My Webpage

garden state motorcyle association

pax

pax

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I have to confess, I am really, really puzzled at the lack of interest in this.

It seems to me a discussion worthy topic when a load of known-to-be-poisoned dog food ends up in the human food chain, given that where all those pigs went is still unknown and that there are still some big questions about how and why this contamination happened and whether it has now been contained is still in question.

I thought if nothing else we'd see some of discussion about buying whole, locally or the joys and sorrows of a global economy.

Well. That's that then. I'll just go put the kettle on...

“Don't kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!”
daves

daves

Posted
Posted
I thought if nothing else we'd see some of discussion about buying whole, locally or the joys and sorrows of  a global economy.

My understanding, from the news reports, that the American Hog Farm *was* a local, buy-whole, sort of place. I'm googling, but can't find more details...

Maison Rustique

Maison Rustique

Posted
Posted

My understanding, from the news reports, that the American Hog Farm *was* a local, buy-whole, sort of place.  I'm googling, but can't find more details...

Yes, that's what I heard as well.

Deb

Liberty, MO

plk

plk

Posted
Posted

And, looks like pork producers are getting reimbursed link but affected pet owners will have to try their luck with class-action lawsuits.

KitchenQueen

KitchenQueen

Posted
Posted

Well this is spooky, the entire article is a must read. Some excerpts

Melamine in big demand in China

Beijing - Melamine is so popular as a protein lookalike feed additive that at least one Chinese manufacturer is believed to have torn down buildings to get to leftover scraps, industry officials said on Monday.

Melamine, used in making plastic and fertilisers, was blamed for killing pets in the United States and South America last month after it was found in wheat gluten and rice protein exported from China for use in pet food.

Melamine scrap is believed to be commonly mixed in animal feed in China to artificially boost the protein level, especially in soymeal, tricking feedlots and farmers into paying more for feed for chickens and pigs.

"The chemical plant next to us used the melamine scrap as waste for landfill and built houses on it. Then they tore down the buildings to get the scrap once the price rose," said a manager with Tai'an Yongfeng Feedmill Co. Ltd in the coastal province of Shandong.

Cutting corners

"It is a very popular business here. I know people have been mixing this since 1991."

Shandong is the centre of China's poultry industry, which is undergoing an industrial revolution as a wealthier population demands more meat and poultry.

entire article from Reuters..

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,...2106641,00.html

pax

pax

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

There was a new FDA alert issued last night for all vegetable protein products originating in China. HUMAN FOOD CHAIN ingredients included. Apparently, "enriching" the protein with melamine is a known phenomena in China.

Please feed yourselves and your kids wisely. Maybe it's worth heaving stuff you aren't sure about.

FDA IMPORT ALERT IA9929

IA #99-29, 4/27/07,  IMPORT ALERT #99-29, "DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL

EXAMINATION OF ALL VEGETABLE PROTEIN PRODUCTS FROM CHINA FOR ANIMAL OR HUMAN

FOOD USE DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELAMINE AND/OR MELAMINE ANALOGS"

Edited by pax (log)
“Don't kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!”
pax

pax

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

Here is an example of the kinds of things I am reading in the mainstream media as pertains to this.

From MSNBC

"38 poultry farms in Indiana given tainted feed"
The article goes on to quote the govt as saying "some chickens probably in the human food supply, but risk is low".

Don't know about you guys, but if I am frying up tenders for my respective kid, I want a freaking ZERO chance. I'm sure you do too.

Eat organic! Buy local! Read labels!

Cheers!

Edited by pax (log)
“Don't kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!”
ghostrider

ghostrider

Posted
Posted

For a possibly more detailed look (my computer doesn't do MSNBC) --

http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-a...nvm/604205.html

Apparently the melamine chickens have already been sold & eaten, & there doesn't seem to be a wave of related human deaths. That's good.

Offhand I'd think that the hogs & chickens are at greater risk than we are, but who knows. Everyone needs to find their own comfort level with this stuff.

Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea!

- Sydney Smith, English clergyman & essayist, 1771-1845

budrichard

budrichard

Posted
Posted

What you are seeing is the tip of an iceburg. Quality Assurnace training will tell you that when you find one or two problems in an area, if you dig deeper, you will find a lot more.

I have called my US Senators, my local Coop Head of Purchasing (Outpost in Milwaukee), emailed Whole Foods and informed them I expect from now on, not to purchase food stuffs that are not labeled with country of origin of the feed. I will not purchase any food stuffs from China or food raised with any products from China, period. I have seen rabbits, crayfish and other foods imported from China and have always resisted purchasing, knowing that at a minimum, the sanitary conditions are suspect. This reminds me of Rachel Carson and 'The Silent Spring'. The Chinese say they have no proof that melamine is harmful but they have no proof that it is not harmful. Well it certainly is to dogs and cats! Unfortuneatly, our pets suffered and died to give us a wake up call. If my pet was one of those, I would be very angry!

Our Australian Labradoodle has always had a raw organic diet and now my daughters have switched thier animals to raw diets.

From now until the Government gets a handle on this problem, its locally sourced meats from producers that certify, no feed from China used in the production.

-Dick

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