This report goes back to the Diamond fungus recall. Can you say Deja Vu?
Below is a small section of the report:
The FDA's Report on the Diamond Pet Foods Recall
An investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was launched after
Dec. 20, 2005, when Diamond Pet Foods recalled about 1 million pounds of
dried pet food made Sept. 1 through Dec. 7 (bearing use-by dates of March 1,
2007, through June 7, 2007).
The FDA recently released a report of its findings on the Diamond Pet Food
case, wherein Federal regulators found widespread failure to test corn and
other ingredients that went into the dog food made in the fall of 2005 at
Diamond Pet Foods' plant in Gaston, South Carolina. Following the report's release,
Diamond Pet Foods admitted that it failed to follow its own testing
guidelines.
In the report, U.S. FDA investigators determined:
Tests could not be verified for more than half the corn samples arriving at
the plant during the critical periods of September and October because the
samples were missing. The samples were either lost or never taken, according to
the FDA. Without them, the FDA was unable to determine exactly how much
aflatoxin (if any) wound up in the dog food that used these batches of corn.
Among the samples that were kept, FDA tests found aflatoxin ranging from 90
parts per billion to 1,851 ppb — four to 90 times the FDA's limit of 20 parts
per billion for human and pet foods. Those samples represented four
truckloads of corn the company tested and cleared and used to make dog food.
In 16 samples of batches of dried dog food, aflatoxin was found at levels
beyond the government's limit.
The S.C. Department of Agriculture has provided aflatoxin testing to
farmers, food manufacturers, and others free of charge as a public service; however,
the test is not required by state or federal law. Diamond Pet Foods did not
take advantage of the department's free aflatoxin testing service.
The inspection also found that Diamond accepted shipments of wheat flour,
rice bran, and chicken byproduct meal between Jan. 3 and 17, despite testing
that found most of the ingredients did not meet the company's own content
specifications for protein, moisture, fat, ash, and fiber.
Of 21 shipments of wheat flour accepted during the two-week period, 17
failed testing of three or more of the five specifications. All five accepted
shipments of rice bran failed on four of five specifications, and six of seven
accepted shipments of chicken byproduct meal failed four specifications tested.
The FDA's findings did not carry any penalties. Diamond Pet Foods reports
it has taken the necessary actions to prevent these oversights from happening
in the future.
Dr.Russell continues:
The Diamond poisonings of 2005/2006 pale in view of the present Menu Foods
disaster. Nonetheless, the reasons for the poisonings-- contaminated basic ingredients that were
never quality tested--are exactly the same. Most important, the pet food
industry is unregulated and iniquitous conduct presents no civil or criminal
penalties, therefore gross malfeasance can actually yield profits. Apparently, the
US government and the pet food industry hasn't learned a thing.
Finally, let me conclude here with a comment from a former commodities
market trader regarding the purchase of Chinese wheat by the pet food industry:
Think about it. China imports much more food than most nations... one of
their biggest problems is keeping a food surplus. Why would Chinese wheat
suddenly go on the global market and not be picked up for in-border consumption?
Answer: The wheat was "dumped" after the contamination was spotted by
Chinese inspectors.. Such products are routinely moved in the
commodities market for a great many industrial uses, everything from building
materials to cosmetics. I suspect the pet food people snapped it up and were
thinking what a good deal they had landed. If the product had been labeled "unfit
for animal consumption" they probably would have passed. Pet food is routinely made with low grade or below standard protein
products... meats and even dairy products of some really nasty origins in
particular.. Pet food is routinely made with low grade or sterilized, there is not much to
harm anyone, even humans. But, chemical contamination is a totally different
matter. (I used to buy and sell various food commodities) MM
------------ --------- --------- -------
(c)2007 Dr. R. J. Russell & the CTCA
http://www.cotonclub.com /
Scroll down to part III and click on Headline News
Face it - there is NO WAY to improve on Mother Nature. She gave us and our furry kids everything we need to survive. The longer we put our trust in corporations, the longer it will take to improve our pets' health and well being, unless they kill them first.
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