Chemical found in state hogs

Source: Sacramento Bee

The chemical linked to cat and dog deaths on two continents has made it into pig feed and perhaps onto California tables, with state agricultural officials announcing late Thursday they've quarantined a Ceres hog farm where lab tests showed melamine in pig urine.

"The farm is cooperating with us to determine the disposition of all animals that have left the premises since April 3," Richard Breitmeyer, the state veterinarian, said in a prepared statement. That's the first time melamine-tainted food is known to have been shipped to the farm.

Melamine has caused tumors in rats and shouldn't be used in animal feed, according to toxicologists.

The farm sells to both private individuals and others whom the state declined to identify, saying it is still investigating what happened to the pork. The state Health Services Department is urging people who bought pigs from the farm not to eat the meat until further notice.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/158442.html

I'm a vegetarian, so at least I won't be poisoned by hogs.

are full of wheat gluten !!

Ack !!!!! Where the hell are OUR health officials ??????

they are supposed to be regulating.

for you Inspector General.. Your very graious, now where were we some drivel about Melamine, I could hardly care less.

corporations??
Naaaaahhhhh. This is the greatest country in the world. Be thankful you don't live in one of those pinko commie European countries. Pity all those poor people with their government oversight (of food safety, working conditions, labor rights, etc.), evil socialized medicine, low crime rate, almost non-existent gun violence, no death penalty, low incarceration rates, lengthy parental leaves, 6 weeks of vacation a year (those lazy fuckers), shorter work week, etc.

You should wake up every day and praise Jeebus that you weren't born in some god-awful place like FRANCE.

Like every office in the executive branch, it is full of unqualified cronies

When I eat meat, I want the real deal. I just don't eat much anymore.

it is their patriotic duty to lie to you about this sort of thing.

Wouldn't want to reduce confidence in your breakfast while we are fighting a war on terra.

nt

This article is also at MSNBC without needing a login

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18210224/


Here's what's boggling my mind ....

The FDA and Agriculture Department also were investigating whether some pet food made by one of the five companies supplied by Wilbur-Ellis was diverted for use as hog feed after it was found unsuitable for pet consumption.

It seems the source is likely a gluten producer in china that has been fluffing the apparent protein content with melamine.

I doubt China would deport someone for this. I could be wrong, but I would be shocked.

As far as US enforcement, no one is going to jail here. Bush prosecutes no white collar crime of any sort. It is policy.

If people start dying, then there will be jail sentences. But, for some dogs and cats dying, that's no big deal to Repukes. Every Repuke I know has an EXTREMELY callous disregard for animal suffering.

".....The FDA and Agriculture Department also were investigating whether some pet food made by one of the five companies supplied by Wilbur-Ellis was diverted for use as hog feed after it was found unsuitable for pet consumption......"

Diamond Pet Foods, of the rice protein concentrate fiasco, apparently sold its recalled, contaminated pet foods to a pig farm in Ceres, CA. Now the pig farm has been quarantined because melamine has been found in pig urine there, and they apparently have sold contaminated pigs for human consumption.

And corporate boards whose demands for higher and higher and higher profits that are responsible for this crap.

Oh, yeah, I forgot.....

I hope they eat a lot of pork.

You have to log into that site to read the story. :(

In any event, a :kick: for this important information!

:dem: :kick:

I forgot to mention the SacBee requires a registration; I am registered so I can get "local" news because we don't get a paper. This article was a headline in today's e-mail.

I don't post at LBN often, but thought the info was important (and scary).

some, including myself are subscribed. The problem is I cannot remember my user name, etc.

Are they feeding it to hogs? beef? chickens?

that it wasn't in our food. Anyone here read fast food nation? It's about cow slaughtering plants but can be applied to any of the megafarms around today. Scary, scary stuff.

....I live in Calif and I was just starting out to make my sour chicken soup and one of the things I use to make the base is BACON!!!!!

:wow:

for free-marketers.

Enron, and now contaminated pig food.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4733635.html

no registration required

Human food supply chain now. I have a feeling a lot more will come out about tainted animal feed. Hope I'm wrong.

that I have to get news such as this online. Shouldn't it be plastered all over television screens? Oh, that's right. Corporations could stand to lose much money.

http://avma.org/aa/menufoodsrecall/breaking_news_070420a.asp

Breaking news
April 20, 2007 (12:15 pm CDT)
The American Hog Farm, a 1500-animal facility in Ceres, has been quarantined by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and lab testing has revealed the presence of the chemical melamine in pig urine. Additional testing of tissues, serum and urine from animals at the farm is underway at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at UC Davis to determine if melamine is present in meat.

It is believed the melamine originated with rice protein concentrate shipped from China. Through an importer, the concentrate was distributed to Diamond Pet Foods, a pet food manufacturer in Lathrop, which sold salvage pet food to the farm for pig feed.

For more information, see the California Department of Food and Agriculture press release at http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/exec/pa/pressreleases/PressRelease.asp?PRnum=CDFA07-038.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/exec/pa/pressreleases/PressRelease.asp?PRnum=CDFA07-038

Stanislaus County Hog Farm Quarantined
Release #CDFA07-038
Print This Release

MELAMINE DETECTED IN PIG URINE

SACRAMENTO, April 19, 2007, Thursday, April 19, 2007 – The American Hog Farm, a 1500-animal facility in Ceres, has been quarantined by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and lab testing has revealed the presence of the chemical melamine in pig urine. Additional testing of tissues, serum and urine from animals at the farm is underway at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at UC Davis to determine if melamine is present in meat.

“Although all animals appear healthy, we are taking this action out of an abundance of caution,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Breitmeyer. “It is unknown if the chemical will be detected in meat. The farm is cooperating with us to determine the disposition of all animals that have left the premises since April 3.”

CDFA was notified of the potential problem by the FDA on April 18. A quarantine was established immediately and urine samples were sent to the lab for analysis. The results became known on April 19.

It is believed the melamine originated with rice protein concentrate shipped from China. Through an importer, the concentrate was distributed to Diamond Pet Foods, a pet food manufacturer in Lathrop, which sold salvage pet food to the farm for pig feed.

Tests of salvage pet food/pig feed at the farm were positive for melamine, as were tests on the pet food in question, Natural Balance – the subject of a recall announced April 16.

The American Hog Farm operates a sizable part of its business through a “custom slaughterhouse,” which processes animals on-site and sells them to individuals for personal use and not for resale. Additional sales by the farm continue to be investigated.

The California Department of Health Services (CDHS) recommends that individuals who purchased hogs from the American Hog Farm after April 3, 2007 not consume the product until further notice.

“At this point in the investigation, evidence suggests a minimal health risk to persons who have consumed pork purchased from these facilities over this timeframe,” said State Public Health Officer Dr. Mark Horton.

The investigation is still in the early stages. CDFA, in consultation with CDHS, will continue to work together with their federal partners to investigate this incident. As the investigation and testing continues, additional information and recommendations will be shared with the public as soon as they are available.



The California Department of Food and Agriculture protects and promotes California's $31.8 billion agricultural industry. California's farmers and ranchers produce a safe, secure supply of food, fiber and shelter; marketed fairly for all Californians; and produced with responsible environmental stewardship

Very lean and very tasty.

Wild pigs are more likely to have parasites, like Trichina worms, which cause trichinosis.

Wild pork really needs to be cooked very well done.

Bring back family farming.

Recommended reading: This Land Is Their Land: How Corporate Farms Threaten The World by Evaggelos Vallianatos
http://www.akpress.org/2006/items/thislandistheirland

.

my food but is there a chance it is not the culprit?

http://www.inchem.org/documents/sids/sids/108781.pdf

I have to say that GM corn looks like more of a problem.

Abstract Health risk assessment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cultivated for food or feed is under debate throughout the world, and very little data have been published on mid- or long-term toxicological studies with mammals. One of these studies performed under the responsibility of Monsanto Company with a transgenic corn MON863 has been subjected to questions from regulatory reviewers in Europe, where it was finally approved in 2005. This necessitated a new assessment of kidney pathological findings, and the results remained controversial. An Appeal Court action in Germany (Münster) allowed public access in June 2005 to all the crude data from this 90-day rat-feeding study. We independently re-analyzed these data. Appropriate statistics were added, such as a multivariate analysis of the growth curves, and for biochemical parameters comparisons between GMO-treated rats and the controls fed with an equivalent normal diet, and separately with six reference diets with different compositions. We observed that after the consumption of MON863, rats showed slight but dose-related significant variations in growth for both sexes, resulting in 3.3% decrease in weight for males and 3.7% increase for females. Chemistry measurements reveal signs of hepatorenal toxicity, marked also by differential sensitivities in males and females. Triglycerides increased by 24–40% in females (either at week 14, dose 11% or at week 5, dose 33%, respectively); urine phosphorus and sodium excretions diminished in males by 31–35% (week 14, dose 33%) for the most important results significantly linked to the treatment in comparison to seven diets tested. Longer experiments are essential in order to indicate the real nature and extent of the possible pathology; with the present data it cannot be concluded that GM corn MON863 is a safe product.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/02648wu132m07804/?p=a4782763081842a38c67449a8b48e6d3&pi=6