Pet food Recall : How long has Melamine been in our pets' food?

When US Food and Drug Inspectors reached China last week to investigate the plants involved in the tainted wheat flour investigation, they found nothing to investigate. Both plants had been closed down and all equipment had been dismantled.

“We visited the two facilities, but there's essentially nothing to be found in that they are currently closed down, not operating,” Walter Batts, deputy director of the FDA’s Office of International Programs, told reporters. “There's essentially nothing, as they have determined, that is available to be seen at the facilities. They've been closed down, machinery dismantled, nothing to really get access to.”

The FDA did confirm however, that China has detained the manager of one of those companies – Mao Lijun of Xuzhou Anying.

The Los Angels Times reported that Mao Lijun’s factory has sickened people and plants for years.

“Farmers in this poor rural area about 400 miles northwest of Shanghai had complained to local government officials since 2004 that Mao's factory was spewing noxious fumes that made their eyes tear up and the poplar trees nearby shed their leaves prematurely,” the paper reported.

“Yet no one stopped Mao's company from churning out bags of food powders and belching smoke — until one day last month when, in the middle of the night, bulldozers arrived and tore down the facility.

The story added, “It wasn't authorities that finally acted: Mao himself razed the brick factory — days before the investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration arrived in China on a mission to track down the source of the tainted pet food ingredients.”

So, how long has this been going on?

At a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration press conference, David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food protection for the FDA, said melamine was seen in pet food samples as far back as early 2006. Before that, he said no one knows, or will likely ever know, if melamine was or was not present in pet food.

Why didn't it sicken our pets before?

The answer remains a mystery. It could be that it has been affecting our pets all along but noone knew what to look for. It may also be that it was only recently that when other chemicals were introduced into the mixture along with the melamine, it was then that they had a deadly affect. Either way, the fact remains that the protein results were altered, melamine contains no nutritional value. So at the very least, the question I would like answered is: Have our pets been undernourished for quite some time?

Basenji Stew

4 small parsnip
2 whole yellow squash—cubed
2 whole Sweet potatoes—peeled and cubed
2 whole Zucchini—cubed
5 whole tomatoes—
(15 oz.) can garbanzo beans
1/2 cup Couscous
1/4 cup shredded Carrots
1 teaspoon Ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon Ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon Ground cumin
3 cups Water or chicken stock
2 cups cooked chicken
Combine all the ingredients (except chicken) in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add chicken. Place over cook brown rice or barley.

Healthy Food for Dogs - Homemade Recipes