Does FDA have the right to withhold the poisoned food supplier's name?

[kitkat65]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070331/ap_on_go_ot/pet_food_recall

This is complete bullshit. Who are they supposed to protect? Us or this company? How do we really know this company doesn't supply products for human consumption?

[ellie]

1. Because the

corporation trumps all, even humans. Snarky answer, I know, but it is true. Every policy decision is made with the corporation's interests in mind.

[kitkat65]

3. It's not snarky at all but I don't get why there isn't a bigger outcry (even here) over

the fact that they think they have the right to withhold the info.

[Venus Dog]

9. There may very well BE an enormous outcry, but we will never hear about it

As they own the media as well and protect all the interests.

[yy4me]

2. Some of the lists published are over a week old too.

I just read on www.Yahoo.com that Alpo is now recalled and went to a list of recalled foods to see if anything else has been added and the list is dated 3/21. Good grief!

[annabanana]

4. The article says "Nestle Purina PetCare Co"

Is there somewhere in the article that another, unnamed supplier is involved with this expansion of the recall?

[Nickster]

5. That's what happens when the common good is trumped by the corporate good.

A responsible government would take the safety and security of the populace over the safety of the corporation. Just imagine, with "tort reform" fully engaged, they wouldn't have to even tell you there was a problem and you'd not be able to file suit against them. There would just be a strange coincidence of everyone's pets dying on them.

[orpupilofnature57]

6. Shrubs legacy ' Paradise Lost ' unless your a Bushie.

[bluerum]

7. To what end? To protect business interests over public health?

That would certainly be in keeping with the mis-administrations priorities.

But no, there should be some legal proceedings rolling in behind all this fairly soon. If not, then our society has truly devolved into a frightening capitalist machine that is capable of anything. It must be redirected.

[Cobalt Violet]

8. Is it Fascism yet?

It certainly seem that the corporations are in control.

[DCKit]

10. "Food safety" is a joke

and has been for years.

Stay away from the prepared food products, buy fresh (organic) and wash the hell out of your produce.

Oh, and buy a juicer.

[Dover]

11. Is this trail so difficult to follow? Surely that info is SOMEWHERE!

Isn't there any way to trace it to the mysterious supplier?

[DCKit]

20. "I don't recall that Senator"

"I forgot"

"That's not the way I remember it"

[Bitwit1234]

12. To be safe we should check ALL pet food to be sure it doesn 't have

wheat gluten. Since they have determined that this is the culprit.

[nebenaube]

13. if they withhold the name then there is no free market n/t

[orpupilofnature57]

17. Precisely! Fascism at best.

[Eurobabe]

14. The real question is WHY they are withholding the name

and how deep does THIS go?

e.g. is there some kind of poisoned wheat gluten in the US food chain that affects everyone? Are they withholding as to not cause mass panic and hysteria?

We don't need to go to war with Iran to cause a collapse of the United States. It could come from within. :scared:

[orpupilofnature57]

15. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

It did collapse in 2000.

[sasha031]

16. would that be such a bad thing

Think of the French, and they never forgot they lessons learned, they always fight back.

[MonkeyFunk]

18. I don't know...

but perhaps, they're just withholding it for NOW since there's no real consensus on what's causing the problem. Is it rat poison? Is it the plastics? Is it from china or the US? I think they just haven't really nailed it down with certainty yet.

But I would hope (and expect) that if they DO nail it down, they'll release all the relevant information.

[Eurobabe]

29. Sure, after they've covered their cronies asses via email from gwb43.com

:grr:

[kestrel91316]

19. FDA aren't complete morons. If this gluten were going into the

human food supply, it would be ALL OVER THE NEWS, lol. 24/7.

Why does everybody think all scientists and public servants are terminally stupid and incredibly evil? They have a thankless job and could make better money on the outside.

Seems like in America it's hip to worship celebrities (most of whom couldn't think rationally if their lives depended on it) and loathe our best and brightest.

Reminds me of Atlas Shrugged............

[DCKit]

22. The FDA is staffed by corporate insiders

and has been since, at least, the Clinton administration.

We desperately need a change of regimes and corporations need to get out of government.

[kestrel91316]

26. The vast majority of people doing the day in and day out work of our

government are NOT political hacks. They are the worker bees, very dedicated to their jobs.

I agree completely that Bush has done everything in his power to make the FDA's true goals unachievable by filling upper level management with fascist drones and buddies and gross incompetents. But those goals remain noble, as do the intentions of the GS folks.

One more reason regime change should start at home.

[sandnsea]

31. And have been fairly silent

for the last 6 years. If they were convinced they were doing the right thing because they were being lied to, then I think they'd keep information from the public. That seems to me to be pretty clear considering how many lies and misinformation has come out of this administration. Think of the scandals. How many civil servants knew about the propaganda writing, 9/11 EPA report, lost money, body armor, Walter Reed, and on and on and on. Just because civil servants know, it doesn't mean they can or would do anything. I don't understand why, but we should not believe anything at face value ever again.

[KoKo]

25. In Bush America where FDA has had three different directors

since 2001....I'm not sure I'd trust anything they said. Seems odd that they are witholding the name of the supplier and that the MSM has not given as much coverage to this as Anna Nicole.

Can the dedicated researchers at FDA get beyond the Bush control? Bushies don't need anymore "bad news" at this point. Would they withold info about human food contamination figuring it would be such a small amount of the population affected that it wouldn't be discovered? Would anyone suddenly having kidney or liver failure even think that it could be due to wheat gluten in a product they consumed?

I hate to even think about it....because how would we know?

[kitkat65]

27. After all the tangible fuckups within the gov't the last six years (a lot of it due to cronyism

& geared toward corporate interests), it's actually quite healthy and reasonable to question the motives and actions of these folks. Granted, some broad generalizations are being made here but it's not all tinfoil hat stuff. Personally, I want to know who's making the decisions and why. If it's to prevent panic, fine. If it's to protect a corporation's ass, then it needs to be exposed. Would you agree the country's food supply transcends race, sex, political affiliation, etc?

[MsFlorida]

21. Maybe this is why - tainted wheat gluten

WAS THE TAINTED WHEAT GLUTEN ENZYMATICALLY MODIFIED? 03/30/07 (http://www.howl911.com)

A visitor to Howl 911 submitted the following two links to a couple of intriguing articles; one, on the enzymatic modification of wheat gluten with transglutaminase by Chinese food researchers and, two, a U.K.-based research paper citing a link between transglutaminase and renal insufficiency (kidney failure). While intriguing, little can be extrapolated from this information without making certain assumptions, as the enzyme used in modifying the wheat gluten is microbial in origin, while the enzyme used in the cited in vivo research was tissue transglutaminase. And even if the microbial transglutaminase possesses the same cross-linking potential as is credited to the tissue transglutaminase (which is certainly within the realm of possiblity), there would have to be sufficient transglutaminase left as a contaminant in the enzymatically-treated wheat gluten to be of any concern. But because the FDA's most recent speculation (melamine contaminating the wheat gluten from China) has only served to create yet more doubt, Howl 911 has chosen to include the following articles on this website.

Enzymatic modification to boost wheat gluten gelling: 11/27/2006 - Modifying wheat gluten protein with transglutaminase enzymes improves the gelling, rheological and textural properties, claim Chinese researchers - a result that may offer value-added solutions for a wide range of food products ... Some modified wheat gluten is already available to food formulators, like, for example, Tate & Lyle's Meripro 410 and 420 launched earlier this year. The former is designed to bring functional benefits as an emulsifier and dough plasticiser, while the latter is said to have emulsifying and foaming properties well suited for desserts and confectionery.

The Role of Transglutaminase in the Rat Subtotal Nephrectomy Model of Renal Fibrosis This observed association between tissue transglutaminase ... rats demonstrated a steady increase in proteinuria and serum creatinine with time ... indicating progressive renal insufficiency ... and renal tubulointerstitial scarring in rats submitted to SNx suggests that tissue transglutaminase may play an important role in the development of experimental renal fibrosis and the associated loss of tubule integrity

[DCKit]

23. SOS

They don't care about the health effects, as long as they get the right performance from their genetic tinkering.

GMOs are polluting the gene pool of native/natural crops around the world and we should be screaming.

[Dover]

24. Food Pets Die For : Shocking Facts about Pet Food

March 18, 2007
Recall of Pet Food Affects Major SuppliersAmong the many commonalities we have here at Chicagoist is that of a love for pets. The office is constantly abuzz with pictures of cats and dogs alike. Needless to say we are a little worried about the recent news that a massive recall of cat and dog food by major companies was released on Friday due to certain foods causing kidney failure and loss of appetite. Menu foods, which produces dog and cat food, said it was recalling 48 brands of dog food and 40 brands of cat food. Menu Foods produces pet food for 17 of the top 20 retailers in the U.S. The food was distributed by large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.

While we traditionally try to feed our feline friend Science Diet Hairball Control, we occasionally pick up Iams because of the convenience of finding everywhere. The recall is attributed to a new supplier of wheat gluten the companies were using. The associated press reports that the wheat gluten, a source of protein, may not be the exact source, but it could be a substance used in the wheat gluten. The recall covers the cuts and gravy style food which is sold in cans and pouches.

Retail sales of pet food generates around $11.2 billion a year. The widely available and cheaper pet food, including Iams and Menu Foods, have come under increased scrutiny in the past few years, with PETA and other groups complaining of animal cruelty in the company labs. Additionally, the ingredients used in a lot of the foods are coming from sources not identified on the packaging. Ann Martin wrote a book on her findings, titled "Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts about Pet Food" which goes in to some pretty gory details....>

http://www.chicagoist.com/archives/2007/03/18/recall_of_pet_food_affects_major_suppliers.php



Also check out: THE NATURE OF ANIMAL HEALING by Martin Goldstein, D.V.M.

[KT2000]

28. That is what I wonder

and I am not buying the melamine story.

[loudsue]

30. My guess is, if someone starts a lawsuit because they have vet bills to pay

that someone will come up with the name of the supplier. If you sue the company whose name is on the pet food can, they'll likely want to bring in the company that started the mess.

Of course, since we've had so much republican control for the last 12 years, they've probably made it so that you can no longer sue a corporation!

:kick: