FDA pet food probe checks 4,000 pet deaths

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating reports by American households of at least 4,000 pet deaths to determine if any are linked to pet food contaminated with melamine from China, the agency said on Tuesday.

Thousands of U.S. dog and cat food products sold under some 150 brands have been recalled in recent weeks because melamine was discovered in vegetable protein concentrate shipments used by pet food makers. Melamine is typically used in plastics and fertilizer.

To date, the FDA has confirmed 16 pet deaths from the tainted food. Officials are sifting through thousands of telephone calls from worried consumers to determine if more deaths are linked to the food.

The agency has received as many as 17,000 calls ... regarding this pet food incident that are alleging some form of animal illness or death," Michael Rogers, head of the FDA's field investigations unit, told reporters.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0125611220070501

Isn't this the same number they have acknowledged for at least the past 3 weeks?

WTF is up with the FDA and what is our Congress doing about it?

What's up is a lack of resources and management and Congress... has more hearings scheduled, last I heard. ...About the FDA closing labs around the country which ought to be doing little things like exactly this kind of testing.

or two, many with a kid or 2.3 kids, and then what are we to extrapolate from this?



numbers, many many numbers.
dp