FDA Concerned about Chinese Food Imports
Consumers should be aware that the FDA is enforcing a new import alert regarding food ingredients from China. Because food labels do not list the country of origin for every ingredient, consumers may want to contact manufacturers regarding the origin of the ingredients in their processed foods. The concern about the safety of food imports from China arose after thousands of dogs and cats in the United States became seriously ill after eating pet food made with contaminated wheat gluten and rice protein from China.
According to a USA Today story:
Inspectors are now allowed to detain vegetable-protein imports from China because they may contain the chemical melamine. Melamine, used in the manufacture of plastics, was found in the wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate that has led to the recall of 5,300 pet food products.Melamine's effects on humans, if ingested, is unclear. In fact, the chemical has not been found in earlier tests to be highly toxic, a fact that has scientists looking for second chemical agent that could be increasing its toxicity. . . .
Now for the products to reach U.S. foodmakers, the importers will have to prove to the FDA that they are safe. The ingredients restricted include wheat gluten, rice gluten, rice protein, rice protein concentrate, corn gluten, corn gluten meal, corn by-products, soy protein, soy gluten, mung-bean protein and amino acids.The FDA has not reported finding melamine in food imports for humans from China, yet it last week launched sample testing "out of an abundance of caution," said chief medical officer David Acheson.
Fred Pritzker is a nationally-recognized foodborne illness litigation lawyer. Its offices are in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minnesota personal injury lawyer Fred Pritzker represents food poisoning victims throughout the United States. Read more about the Minnesota personal injury lawyers at Pritzker law.
