pigs that humans eat had the Melamine in thier urine... & more updated

[garypen]

Ah. You're a water dish half full kind of person.

[Cindy Nevarez]

Tell me about it! It gets me in trouble a lot.

[Mary K]

   OMG! Liller-Pants is cute as can be!!!! Kiss her for me!!
Well, back to the poisoning, it will perhaps even get into my home-made chicken recipe for the cats if I am not diligent, now! Glad I am vegetarian, but I still want to stand up for others who are not. Melamine causes bladder tumors and FDA is trying to skirt this issue by saying it is not carcinogenic but causes bladder crystals (which then cause cancer) (come on, now!!). We have enough cancer suffering people in the world, already. I sure don't want my kids or grandkids suffering for this. It must be stopped now.   

[Geff]

Probably won't happen, but I would really like to see prison terms for the executives (both business & government) who are responsible.

[Cindy Nevarez]

A ha! But now that it's reached 10 human-food farms and counting...there may be human fatalities, which makes this a direct connection to the pet food industry. So in that event there will be prison terms in the futures of some of these A-holes.

[Cindy Nevarez]

Thanks for the compliment!
Lilly is our newest rescue, and is only 2.5 years old. All our other animals range in age up from that to 18 years old.

[Cindy Nevarez]

Yo, Everyone: Oprah is talking about it right now on her show!

[Cindy Nevarez]

OK...they must've taped this show awhile back, 'cause they only talked about the original recall. But she mainly wanted to talk about food since so many are confused now as to what to feed their dogs.

Anyway, she featured "her" vet, Dr. Marty Goldstein, who put up a chart of recommended feeding, which I know most of us here are on the right track already. He said best feeding choices of the following order; 1-raw, 2-cooked, 3-premium high meat canned, 4-premium canned, 5-grain-free kibble. He said regardless of what choice we make, we should be feeding our cats and dogs only about  1 - 3 % carbs. The very last entry on this list (# 7) is generic dry food, which of course we all know to be the worst thing to feed.

BTW, this vet is a holistic vet and has written a book which seems pretty interesting.

Here in AZ they show the same 3 PM Oprah show at 9 PM the same night, so maybe some of you can still watch it tonight.

[Cindy Nevarez]

Hey everyone; They found 45 people who ate some of this pork. And what are they going to do w/all those pigs?

Here's the whole story:


Hogs that ate tainted feed to be euthanized
6,000 pigs banned from pork supply

By Mary Ann Fergus
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 27, 2007


Federal officials alerted authorities in seven states Thursday that swine fed tainted pet food will not be approved to enter the human food supply.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration expect that approximately 6,000 hogs, now under quarantine, will be euthanized even as they announced that the likelihood of illness after eating pork from the animals is very low. The affected hogs are in California, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Kansas, Oklahoma and Utah.

Last weekend, the California Department of Food and Agriculture traced shipments of hogs that may have eaten the feed contaminated with melamine, a chemical found in the tainted pet food and associated with numerous pet deaths and illnesses, to a farm that in turn sold hogs to a meat vendor.

California officials have contacted the approximately 45 people who purchased hogs from two custom slaughter facilities before the quarantine. Most consumers said they had already eaten the pork, said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Health officials in California have called the risk to humans "minimal."

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service continues to investigate whether any of up to 300 potentially affected hogs have been slaughtered and turned into pork for sale in grocery stores.

"We're not aware that any products have gone into commerce," said Kenneth Peterson, an assistant administrator with the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Officials are also investigating whether a poultry farm in Missouri received or used the contaminated feed.

Rice protein and wheat gluten imported from China and used in pet food were tainted with melamine, a nitrogen-rich chemical used for industrial purposes, and cyanuric acid. Some of the salvaged pet food that didn't make it into bags was passed on to hog farms that turned it into feed.

Federal officials say they don't know of any studies on the effect of melamine in humans or melamine combined with related compounds, such as cyanuric acid, a chemical also high in nitrogen that is used in swimming pool chlorine. But they expressed concern during a teleconference with reporters Thursday that the toxicity of melamine with other compounds may be greater than that of melamine alone.

"But we still believe the risk to be extremely low," said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

The USDA will compensate hog farmers who euthanize their animals.

Also Thursday, Chenango Valley Pet Foods announced that it was recalling several brands of pet food made with the potentially tainted rice protein concentrate. Consumers with questions may contact the company at: 610-821-0608

[Mary K]

Well, I am sure happy (and surprised) about this! The buck stops here! Now those people who ate the pork must sue, sue, sue. (That's not soooo-weeee, soooo-weeee, sooo-weee)

[Sarah]

Ah, what will happen to the bodies of those euthanized hogs?  Something to think about ...
Sarah

[Cindy Nevarez]

I don't WANT to think about that! 

[Mary K]

I can't help myself, once again. I say we ship them to China.       They won't have a problem using them! But that is only after the US boycotts China.

[Cindy Nevarez]

Can you believe this? The FDA is trying very hard to make it difficult for anyone to sue now. What gives? They still are not allow release of this meat into the 'human food supply' in spite of it not being harmful to them. They say this on one side of their mouths, but say on the other side (in the last story from yesterday) that they have no tests to show what damage to humans will actually occur.

Story follows:

FDA News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2007
 Media Inquiries:
FDA Press Office: 301-827-6242
USDA Press Office: 202-720-4623
Consumer Inquiries:
888-INFO-FDA
 


Joint Update: FDA/USDA Update on Tainted Animal Feed
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue their investigation of imported rice protein concentrate which has been found to contain melamine and melamine-related compounds. Based on information currently available, FDA and USDA believe the likelihood of illness after eating pork from swine fed the contaminated product would be very low. The agencies are taking certain actions out of an abundance of caution. As announced on April 26, swine known to have been fed adulterated (contaminated) product will not be approved to enter the food supply. (Because the animal feed in question was adulterated, USDA cannot rule out the possibility that food produced from animals fed this product could also be adulterated. USDA cannot approve potentially adulterated meat.) This update provides additional information regarding the ongoing investigation.

As reported on April 22 by FDA, the Agency determined that rice protein concentrate imported from China was contaminated with melamine and melamine-related compounds. The product was imported by Wilbur-Ellis, an importer and distributor of agricultural products. Although the company began importing product from China in August 2006, the company did not become aware of the contamination until April 2007. As part of the ongoing investigation, FDA has determined the rice protein was used in the production of pet food and a portion of the pet food was used to produce animal feed. The ongoing investigation is tracing products distributed since August 2006 by Wilbur-Ellis throughout the distribution chain.

At this time, we have no evidence of harm to humans associated with the processed pork product, and therefore no recall of meat products processed from these animals is being issued. Testing and the joint investigation continue. If any evidence surfaces to indicate there is harm to humans, the appropriate action will be taken.

The assessment that, if there were to be harm to human health, it would be very low, is based on a number of factors, including the dilution of the contaminating melamine and melamine-related compounds from the original rice protein concentrate as it moves through the food system. First it is a partial ingredient in the pet food; second, it is only part of the total feed given to the hogs; third, it is not known to accumulate in the hogs and the hogs excrete melamine in their urine; fourth, even if present in pork, pork is only a small part of the average American diet. Neither FDA nor USDA has uncovered any evidence of harm to the swine from the contaminated feed. In addition to the dilutional factor and the lack of evidence of illnesses in the swine fed the waste pet food, we are not aware of any human illness that has occurred from exposure to melamine or its by-products. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention systems would have limited ability to detect subtle problems due to melamine and melamine-related compounds, no problems have been detected to date. To further evaluate any potential harm to humans, the FDA is developing and implementing further tests and risk assessments based on the toxicity of the compounds and how much of the compounds consumers could be expected to actually consume.

The ongoing investigation and product reconciliation and testing have led to certain farms. We expect the investigation will continue to find more places where product may have been distributed. As of April 26, sites in the following states are believed to have received and used contaminated product: California, Kansas, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Utah. As we confirm additional sites that have received and used contaminated product, we will provide additional updates.

USDA and FDA continue to conduct a full, comprehensive examination to protect the nation’s food supply and will provide updates as new information is confirmed.

[Geff]

I strongly suspect that Karl Rove is now personally overseeing damage control. He seems to have used Orwell's 1984 as a textbook throughout his infamous career.