Melamine Testing to Be Performed on Pet Food
Asian Officials to Test Dog Food and Animal Feed for Melamine
Oct 8, 2008
The latter part of 2008 brought two pet food recalls in the United States, due to possible salmonella contamination affecting Pedigree and more than a dozen other dog food and cat food brands that were manufactured at the Mars Petcare U.S., Everson, Pennsylvania pet food manufacturing facility.
Weeks after the August and September 2008 pet food recalls, additional food recalls made headlines. This time, the food recall involved an industrial chemical called melamine that was found in human-grade food products manufactured in China, including baby formula and an array of other products containing milk or other diary byproducts.
Melamine Testing in Human Foods
In the days following the announcement of the food recalls due to melamine contamination, melamine testing got underway in many Asian nations, including Singapore.
Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is attempting to determine what products and foods have been tainted with melamine. And as of October 8, 2008, one Singapore newspaper was reporting that half of the 2,200 food samples had already been tested for the presence of melamine.
In cases where melamine is present, authorities are attempting to determine the concentration of the melamine contamination.
Melamine Testing in Pet Foods
Melamine was responsible for pet illness and pet deaths in the United States in 2007, when the North American pet food supply was tainted. In the 2007 melamine-tainted pet food recall, ingredients for the contaminated pet food originated from China. The Asian nation was ultimately identified as the suspected source of the melamine contamination.
This hard-learned lesson was not lost on Asian officials, and plans are underway in Singapore to begin testing pet food, pet treats and animal feed as soon as testing on the 2,200 human-grade food samples is complete.
According to published reports in the Singapore News, Chinese-made pet food comprises approximately five percent of the world's pet food supply, but nevertheless, authorities at Singapore's AVA aren't taking any chances.
According to Goh Shih Yong, Assistant Director of Communications for Singapore's AVA, "Food safety is our primary concern and currently we are running tests on milk and milk products imported from China. After we have checked the food products, we will then proceed to check on pet food and animal feed."
Concerns reportedly arose when Singapore officials realized that many pet foods and dog treats contain milk or other dairy products that are imported from China, therefore placing these pet products at risk of containing the potentially deadly chemical melamine.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is closely monitoring the situation, and the agency is issuing recall notices for any and all food products that are routinely imported to the United States that have been found to contain traces of Melamine. Information from the FDA concerning any local concerns stemming from the melamine contamination scare is available on the FDA's website.
Related Reading
Visit the Pet Food Recall Page for the latest information on the salmonella-related pet food recalls, pet food testing for melamine, along with directions on how to handle contaminated pet food and more.
 |
