More obsessive reading on the pet food recall

Some news bites to share:

If you want to read a REALLY GOOD article on all this — not just the AP feed — check this:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/04/03/petscol.DTL&hw=gluten&sn=022&sc=117

You may then want to go kick the wall, or rant for a while.
Seems like man's best friend doesn't really even appear on the radar of food safety.
And if I see that "15 confirmed deaths" at the top of another news story, I may scream.
(Very funny Rosie, now go fuck off.)

Also, the latest on the saga of the wheat gluten:

(from SF Chronicle – April 6)
The FDA still doesn't know
where all the contaminated imported wheat gluten ended up, though it
appears unlikely any made it into human food.

"At this time, we can say that there is no evidence to
suggest that any of the imported, suspect wheat gluten formed positive
lots that made it into the human food supply," said Michael Rogers, who
oversees field investigations for the FDA's office of regulatory
affairs.

The imported product was only minimally labeled but
apparently went only to pet food producers. The FDA considers the
contamination an aberration since wheat gluten generally is not
considered a product at risk for contamination.

"This should not be viewed as suddenly our food supply is
unsafe, because I don't believe that to be the case. In fact, the
opposite is true," agency chief Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach said.

FDA officials said its nationwide investigation could turn up
more pet food manufacturers that used the tainted ingredient, prompting
even more products to be recalled.

"It is impossible for us to say at this time that there won't
be additional recalls. We're continuing to follow the trail," said
David Elder, who oversees enforcement in the FDA's office of regulatory
affairs. Menu Foods, a major manufacturer of nearly 100 store- and
major-brand pet foods, announced the first recall March 16. Hill's Pet
Nutrition Inc., Del Monte Pet Products and Nestle Purina PetCare Co.
all have since recalled some of their products as well.

The FDA's import alert, disclosed Monday but posted on its
Web site Friday, notifies its field offices to detain any wheat gluten
offered for import from the Chinese company.

The order also recommends inspectors screen all wheat gluten
from China as well as from the Netherlands, a country through which
transshipping of Chinese products can occur.

The FDA could not immediately say how much wheat gluten was
exported to the U.S. by Xuzhou Anying. The FDA also was working to
determine whether it shipped any other food products to the U.S., said
Ellen Morrison, director of FDA's office of crisis management.

The FDA has received in recent weeks more than 9,400 pet
food-related complaints from consumers — nearly twice what the agency
receives in a full year for all the products it regulates, von
Eschenbach said.

That's 9,400 people who figured out to call the FDA.
Can you say, tip of the ice burg?

And it's unlikely to be in human food supply?
Oh sure, like you guys would know.
It is soooooo time to start buying locally, buying fresh, for people and pets alike.

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