SHANGHAI, China, May 9, 2007
China Makes Arrests In Pet Food Case
Top Drug Regulator Also To Go On Trial, As China Promises To Boost Food And Drug Safety
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(AP / CBS)
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State media, meanwhile, reported the country's disgraced former top drug regulator would go on trial this month on charges of taking bribes to approve untested medicine.
The ongoing revelations have shed a harsh light on China's notoriously lax enforcement of food and drug safety, sparking fears that exported products could contaminate food supplies abroad.
Food heading overseas will face tougher inspections, reports CBS News' Cynthia Hatton(audio). One of the arrested managers reportedly shopped online for melamine, a chemical used in plastics, fertilizers and flame retardants.
Few details were given about the detentions, which follow a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation sparked by the pet deaths and a recall of nearly 100 brands of pet food made with the tainted ingredients.
The FDA discovered melamine in the pet food and traced the contaminated foodstuff to the Chinese companies.
In a notice on its Web site, China's government body responsible for overseeing food safety said police had opened cases against individuals at the two companies blamed for the melamine tainting — Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd. and Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd.
It said police had placed an unspecified number of individuals "under monitoring," but gave no other details.
"Relevant departments will deal strictly with the lawbreaking companies and those responsible according to the results of the investigation," the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on its Web site.
Separately, the State Council, or Cabinet, said the nationwide crackdown would compel companies to adopt "standards used in food-importing countries ... and test products which will be used to make animal feed or food for humans."
The government must "strengthen its investigations into protein products, especially melamine," the notice said.
The government's actions come as China faces criticism from the U.S. and European Union for what they allege are unfair trade practices. For China, the tainted food scandal could reinforce those negative perceptions, inciting a backlash that could see Chinese food products banned, potentially crimping already hard-pressed Chinese farmers.
China's exports of seafood, food additives and other such products compete strongly on price but have been repeatedly singled out for contamination or low quality. For example, the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama recently banned catfish from China after tests found ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, antibiotics banned for use in the United States.
In another embarrassing disclosure, The New York Times reported recently that a Chinese company sold diethylene glycol, a chemical cousin of antifreeze, that ended up in medicine that killed at least 51 people in Panama.
The agency that sets regulator standards for food and drug safety has been in disarray for years. Its director, Zheng Xiaoyu, was dismissed in 2005 and has since been accused of taking up to 6 million yuan ($780,000) in bribes to approve untested medicines, including an antibiotic that killed at least 10 patients.
Zheng is scheduled to go on trial in mid-May, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The quality inspection administration said Xuzhou Anying and Binzhou Futian were both listed as having exported melamine-spiked rice protein and wheat gluten to the United States.
U.S. inspectors said the tainted gluten was used to make pet food and caused the deaths of an unknown number of dogs and cats through liver failure.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 31 CommentsAnd we are worried about China?
So basically we need to be questioning even what our countries are putting in our pet food.
Actually we need to be questioning what is in all our food. We need to start DEMANDING that their are no chemicals and c-r-a-p in our food.
As far as China goes, why haven't they noticed their pets dying from it? Perhaps I can tell you why. It is either because they haven't been putting it in their food or when their animals die they don't give a ****. Why would they, they are going around and killing their animals anyway.
The problem with China is that after they PRETEND that they have dealt with this, everything will go back to the way it was. Maybe not with the melamine but it will be something else. We already know that there is rat poison it it, what is being done about that? All we are hearing about is the melamine.
Just remember that there could be ANYTHING in the food and the inspectors will not know that it is their unless they are specifically testing for that particular thing. And very little is actually inspected, PERIOD.
And we are worried about China?
So basically we need to be questioning even what our countries are putting in our pet food.
Actually we need to be questioning what is in all our food. We need to start DEMANDING that their are no chemicals and c-r-a-p in our food.
As far as China goes, why haven't they noticed their pets dying from it? Perhaps I can tell you why. It is either because they haven't been putting it in their food or when their animals die they don't give a ****. Why would they, they are going around and killing their animals anyway.
The problem with China is that after they PRETEND that they have dealt with this, everything will go back to the way it was. Maybe not with the melamine but it will be something else. We already know that there is rat poison it it, what is being done about that? All we are hearing about is the melamine.
Just remember that there could be ANYTHING in the food and the inspectors will not know that it is their unless they are specifically testing for that particular thing. And very little is actually inspected, PERIOD.
For companies in the US, they are already inspected, plus we have some standards.. the Chinese think nothing of adding contamination to food items on purpose or by accident as long as they get paid..
For companies in the US, they are already inspected, plus we have some standards.. the Chinese think nothing of adding contamination to food items on purpose or by accident as long as they get paid..
For companies in the US, they are already inspected, plus we have some standards.. the Chinese think nothing of adding contamination to food items on purpose or by accident as long as they get paid..
For companies in the US, they are already inspected, plus we have some standards.. the Chinese think nothing of adding contamination to food items on purpose or by accident as long as they get paid..
For companies in the US, they are already inspected, plus we have some standards.. the Chinese think nothing of adding contamination to food items on purpose or by accident as long as they get paid..
The government must 'strengthen its investigations into protein products, especially melamine.'
government notice"
What government? Maybe, like whom?
"U.S. inspectors said the tainted gluten was used to make pet food and caused the deaths of an unknown number of dogs and cats through *liver* failure."
I thought it was kidney failure. Which is it? Or is it both? Are you making this up?
"The administration said it passed on those results to the FDA, officials from which were in China last week to meet government officials and visit companies. No details of the trip have been released, * and it is not known if they are still in China *." !!!!!
Maybe you are making this up...
The government must 'strengthen its investigations into protein products, especially melamine.'
government notice"
What government? Maybe, like whom?
"U.S. inspectors said the tainted gluten was used to make pet food and caused the deaths of an unknown number of dogs and cats through *liver* failure."
I thought it was kidney failure. Which is it? Are you making this up?
"The administration said it passed on those results to the FDA, officials from which were in China last week to meet government officials and visit companies. No details of the trip have been released, * and it is not known if they are still in China *." !!!!!
Maybe you are making this up...
The government must 'strengthen its investigations into protein products, especially melamine.'
government notice"
What government? Maybe, like whom?
"U.S. inspectors said the tainted gluten was used to make pet food and caused the deaths of an unknown number of dogs and cats through *liver* failure."
I thought it was kidney failure. Which is it? Are you making this up?
"The administration said it passed on those results to the FDA, officials from which were in China last week to meet government officials and visit companies. No details of the trip have been released, * and it is not known if they are still in China *." !!!!!
Maybe you are making this up...
Police at the local, city and provincial levels declined comment. A woman surnamed Cao at the Binzhou police in Shandong province said she could not comment because of the confidential nature of the case.
There were no listed telephone numbers for detention centers in the two areas."
Funny, all this stuff is on page 2, along with other interesting facts. Hope everyone caught it.
And who is "the general administration..." they keep quoting?
Posted by djermano1
Fine, don't eat then!!
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