US Pet Food/Treat Distributor told Chinese Supplier to add Melamine

[Bonkers]

  This article was posted  by Susan Thixton at truthaboutpetfood.com on 4/20/09.                 "US pet owners have believed that Chinese companies are solely to blame in the numerous cases of tainted pet foods over the last several years.  New information provided to TruthaboutPetFood.com tells a slightly different story.  It has been reported that one US pet food and pet treat distributor instructed a Chinese manufacturer to add melamine to dog treats.

 

I was one of those US pet owners; I believed the deaths and illnesses of thousands of US and Canadian dogs and cats were due to reckless Chinese manufacturers.  The more Chinese recalls that occurred (toothpaste, tires, drywall), the more it seemed to me that China had no quality control of any type of product manufacturing. 

 

This morning I received an email from a Chinese pet treat manufacturer; the sole supplier of dog and cat treats for a US company most pet owners would be familiar with.  The US company sells many different types of dog and cat treats and several different varieties of dog and cat foods.  I corresponded several times with this representative of the Chinese manufacturer; he answered every one of my questions directly and openly.  Knowing more information than I can report (because of lawsuit risks) of the US pet treat and pet food company, I believe the Chinese manufacturer.  Below is a direct quote from his emails; the US company name and company owner has been XXX-ed out due to legal threats.  You decide who you believe."                                                                              http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/334/1/US-Pet-FoodTreat-Distributor-told-Chinese-Supplier-to-add-Melamine/Page1.html

 

[Bonkers]

  According to this Dec. 2006 report by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service called the "Gain Report" (Global Agricultural Information Network), there are two companies that dominate the dog food market in China. "Effem Foods Beijing, a subsidiary
of Mars Inc., is the dominant company in the low and medium categories with almost 50
percent market share. Effem produces the brand “Pedigree” in China and it is the dominant
commercial dog food. Pedigree captures the low and mid-price range with both dry and wet
food with many different types, sizes, and package styles. Effem also has several other wellknown
brands. “Royal Canine” is the largest imported brand in terms of sales, the second
largest in terms of overall sales, and the leader of the premium category." (Though Royal Canine is also a subsidiary of Mars, it’s China operation is currently an
independent brand.) Companies with single-digit market share include Nestle, Hills, Purina,
and the Chinese companies Zhangjiagang Lianfeng, Shenzhen Libangda, Shandong Weifang
Pinghe, Chengdu Care, and Yantai China. Currently, Effem is the only foreign company with
significant domestic production capacity, while the other companies import their products".                                                                                                                          http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200612/146259716.pdf

[Bonkers]

  There has been an update added to this story on truthaboutpetfood.com. It seems as though the CEO of the company in question has contacted Susan. Susan in turn has supplied all the information she received from the Chinese manufacturer to the FDA. You can view the whole story here. http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/345/1/Guilty-Where-can-we-turn-from-here-/Page1.html

[GreyGhost]

Why am I not surprised. And it just confirms my concern that some of the US companies actually knew and in fact wanted this done. Its sad how careful one has to be just to feed pet food and feed themselves these days. It disgusts me to no end.

[sherrylynne]

I just wish the manufacturer had sent copies of his emails to her prior to going to ground! The worst part of this whole thing for me is that I am not in any way surprised.