AP: U.S food safety strained by imports

LOS ANGELES - The same food safety net that couldn't catch poisoned pet food ingredients from China has a much bigger hole.

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Billions of dollars' worth of foreign ingredients that Americans eat in everything from salad dressing to ice cream get a pass from overwhelmed inspectors, despite a rising tide of imports from countries with spotty records, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal trade and food data.

Well before contaminated shipments from China killed 16 cats and dogs and sickened thousands more, government food safety task forces worried about the potential human threat — ingredients are hard to quarantine and can go virtually everywhere in a range of brand products.

When U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors at ports and border checkpoints look, they find shipments that are filthy or otherwise contaminated. They rarely bother, however, in part because ingredients aren't a priority.


Hm. Using the exhaust from trucks to dry tea leaves.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070423/ap_on_re_us/imported_ingredients;_ylt=An7MmUjIQMnHvx69hVXv6SfMWM0F

I also added to the OP.

I was under the impression that hundreds of pets dies over this.

It may be up in the thousands.