Tainted Hogs Might be in Human Food Supply

A report has been released by the government today indicating that some hogs may have eaten contaminated pet food. Those same hogs might also have entered the human food supply.

The government is saying that around 6,000 hogs have eaten contaminated pet food and that several hundred of them are believed to have entered the human food chain. However, they describe the potential risk to human health as very low. How did this happen? Apparently, someone decided that they would try to salvage the pet food from companies that were known or suspected to have used a tainted ingredient and ship it to hog farms in seven states for use as animal feed. The government has told the three states involved it would not allow meat from any of the hogs that ate the feed to enter the food supply. According to the Agriculture Department, there are only about 345 hogs from farms in California, New York and South Carolina that may have entered the human food supply. It would seem that that the vast majority of the hogs that could have been exposed to the contaminated food are still on the farms where they are being raised. Kenneth Peterson of the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Services says that the government will compensate farmers if they kill their hogs. So far, the department is not aware that any countries are moving to suspend imports of US pork products. In another development, it is being reported that a poultry feed mill in Missouri possibly received contaminated pet food scraps left over from "production". The fate of the feed made from that waste in now under investigation.

The pet food sent to the farms later was discovered to have an ingredient, rice protein concentrate, imported from China that was tainted by an industrial chemical, melamine. Testing also revealed other related and similarly banned compounds, including cyanuric acid. Food and Drug Administration inspectors were preparing to visit China as part of the agency's investigation.

Melamine is not considered a human health concern. But there is no scientific data on the health effects of melamine combined with the other compounds, said David Elder, director of enforcement for the FDA.

The FDA and Agriculture Department say that they "believe the likelihood of someone becoming ill after eating pork from hogs fed contaminated feed is very low". Does that make you feel any better? Me, I don't think I'll be eating and/or buying any pork products in the near future and perhaps, beyond. In the meantime, the University of California, Davis, is in the process of developing a test that would measure melamine levels in animal's tissue.

Since mid-March, pet food companies have recalled more than 100 brands of dog and cat food and treats; more recalls were announced Thursday. An unknown number of cats and dogs have fallen ill or died after eating products made with contaminated rice protein concentrate or a second tainted ingredient, wheat gluten.

Some pet food, while unsuitable for sale for that purpose, was still considered safe for animals to eat as it had not been recalled at the time it was forwarded to hog farms. Its use at hog farms raised the possibility that melamine entered the human food supply.

So, the pet food is no good to feed to your dog and cat but it's OK to feed to a pig or a chicken that you are going to eat? If so, why is the Department of Agriculture compensating farmers to kill hogs? What a nightmare scenario this is.