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20 million chickens may have eaten tainted feed
Poultry must be assessed by government before it's processed, USDA says.

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Updated: 57 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Federal officials on Friday placed a hold on 20 million chickens raised for market in several states because their feed was mixed with pet food containing an industrial chemical.

Three government agencies — the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency — are overseeing a risk assessment to determine whether the chickens would pose a threat to human health if eaten, USDA spokesman Keith Williams said. The assessment may be completed as early as Monday.

The 20 million chickens represent a tiny fraction of the 9 billion chickens raised each year in the United States. Meat from the birds can't go into commercial use without the USDA's inspection seal, which is being withheld until the risk assessment is completed, Williams said.
Which states have chicken producers affected by the hold will be disclosed later, Williams said.

Investigators have found that about 5 percent of feed used at some smaller chicken production operations contains the chemical melamine, Williams said. Larger manufacturers, because they usually use special feed for the chickens they raise or contract for raising, are unlikely to have exposed their animals to large amounts of the tainted pet products, he said.

As of Friday, no melamine had been detected in the feed used by larger manufacturers, Williams said. However, because investigators know some of the tainted pet food was used in the chicken feed, officials placed a hold on the birds, he said.

Since March 16, more than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled because they were contaminated with melamine. An unknown number of dogs and cats have been sickened or died after eating pet food tainted with the chemical.The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday as many as 20 million chickens currently on U.S. farms in several states may have been fed contaminated feed.

A USDA official said the birds must be held until the government can complete a risk assessment to determine if they can be processed. The results could come as early as Monday.

The birds were among those believed to have been given contaminated feed with pet food containing melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizer. It is uncertain how many chickens have been processed.

Health Ministry officials acknowledge problems, but have described scandals such as the 2004 baby formula deaths as isolated incidents. Neither the ministry nor State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, responsible for overall food safety standards, responded to questions submitted to them in writing as requested.

Over the past 25 years, Chinese agricultural exports to the United States surged nearly 20-fold to $2.26 billion last year, led by poultry products, sausage casings, shellfish, spices and apple juice.

Inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are able to check only a tiny percentage of the millions of shipments that enter the United States each year.

Even so, shipments from China were rejected at the rate of about 200 per month this year, the largest from any country, compared to about 18 for Thailand, and 35 for Italy, also big exporters to the United States, according to data posted on the FDA's Web site.

Chinese products are bounced for containing pesticides, antibiotics and other potentially harmful chemicals, and false or incomplete labeling that sometimes omits the producer's name.

To protect its foreign markets, China is trying to set up a dedicated export supply chain, sealed off from the domestic market, said Keyzer.

<blockquote data-quote="PORKER" data-source="post: 207095" data-attributes="member: 232">20 million chickens may have eaten tainted feedPoultry must be assessed by government before it&#039;s processed, USDA says.&nbsp; Related Stories&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Tainted chicken feed has consumers worried&nbsp; Missouri poultry farm may have tainted food-FDA&nbsp; Tainted pet food linked to Indiana chickens&nbsp; Food safety czar to oversee purity of U.S. pantry&nbsp; US examines if pet food contaminant in human food Updated: 57 minutes agoWASHINGTON - Federal officials on Friday placed a hold on 20 million chickens raised for market in several states because their feed was mixed with pet food containing an industrial chemical.Three government agencies — the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency — are overseeing a risk assessment to determine whether the chickens would pose a threat to human health if eaten, USDA spokesman Keith Williams said. The assessment may be completed as early as Monday.The 20 million chickens represent a tiny fraction of the 9 billion chickens raised each year in the United States. Meat from the birds can&#039;t go into commercial use without the USDA&#039;s inspection seal, which is being withheld until the risk assessment is completed, Williams said.Which states have chicken producers affected by the hold will be disclosed later, Williams said.Investigators have found that about 5 percent of feed used at some smaller chicken production operations contains the chemical melamine, Williams said. Larger manufacturers, because they usually use special feed for the chickens they raise or contract for raising, are unlikely to have exposed their animals to large amounts of the tainted pet products, he said.As of Friday, no melamine had been detected in the feed used by larger manufacturers, Williams said. However, because investigators know some of the tainted pet food was used in the chicken feed, officials placed a hold on the birds, he said.Since March 16, more than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled because they were contaminated with melamine. An unknown number of dogs and cats have been sickened or died after eating pet food tainted with the chemical.The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday as many as 20 million chickens currently on U.S. farms in several states may have been fed contaminated feed.A USDA official said the birds must be held until the government can complete a risk assessment to determine if they can be processed. The results could come as early as Monday.The birds were among those believed to have been given contaminated feed with pet food containing melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizer. It is uncertain how many chickens have been processed.Health Ministry officials acknowledge problems, but have described scandals such as the 2004 baby formula deaths as isolated incidents. Neither the ministry nor State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, responsible for overall food safety standards, responded to questions submitted to them in writing as requested.Over the past 25 years, Chinese agricultural exports to the United States surged nearly 20-fold to $2.26 billion last year, led by poultry products, sausage casings, shellfish, spices and apple juice.Inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are able to check only a tiny percentage of the millions of shipments that enter the United States each year.Even so, shipments from China were rejected at the rate of about 200 per month this year, the largest from any country, compared to about 18 for Thailand, and 35 for Italy, also big exporters to the United States, according to data posted on the FDA&#039;s Web site.Chinese products are bounced for containing pesticides, antibiotics and other potentially harmful chemicals, and false or incomplete labeling that sometimes omits the producer&#039;s name.To protect its foreign markets, China is trying to set up a dedicated export supply chain, sealed off from the domestic market, said Keyzer.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="PORKER, post: 207095, member: 232"] [b]20 million chickens may have eaten tainted feed[/b] Poultry must be assessed by government before it’s processed, USDA says. Related Stories Tainted chicken feed has consumers worried Missouri poultry farm may have tainted food-FDA Tainted pet food linked to Indiana chickens Food safety czar to oversee purity of U.S. pantry US examines if pet food contaminant in human food Updated: 57 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Federal officials on Friday placed a hold on 20 million chickens raised for market in several states because their feed was mixed with pet food containing an industrial chemical. Three government agencies — the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency — are overseeing a risk assessment to determine whether the chickens would pose a threat to human health if eaten, USDA spokesman Keith Williams said. The assessment may be completed as early as Monday. The 20 million chickens represent a tiny fraction of the 9 billion chickens raised each year in the United States. Meat from the birds can’t go into commercial use without the USDA’s inspection seal, which is being withheld until the risk assessment is completed, Williams said. Which states have chicken producers affected by the hold will be disclosed later, Williams said. Investigators have found that about 5 percent of feed used at some smaller chicken production operations contains the chemical melamine, Williams said. Larger manufacturers, because they usually use special feed for the chickens they raise or contract for raising, are unlikely to have exposed their animals to large amounts of the tainted pet products, he said. As of Friday, no melamine had been detected in the feed used by larger manufacturers, Williams said. However, because investigators know some of the tainted pet food was used in the chicken feed, officials placed a hold on the birds, he said. Since March 16, more than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled because they were contaminated with melamine. An unknown number of dogs and cats have been sickened or died after eating pet food tainted with the chemical.The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday as many as 20 million chickens currently on U.S. farms in several states may have been fed contaminated feed. A USDA official said the birds must be held until the government can complete a risk assessment to determine if they can be processed. The results could come as early as Monday. [b]The birds were among those believed to have been given contaminated feed with pet food containing melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizer. [/b]It is uncertain how many chickens have been processed. Health Ministry officials acknowledge problems, but have described scandals such as the 2004 baby formula deaths as isolated incidents. Neither the ministry nor State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, responsible for overall food safety standards, responded to questions submitted to them in writing as requested. Over the past 25 years, Chinese agricultural exports to the United States surged nearly 20-fold to $2.26 billion last year, led by poultry products, sausage casings, shellfish, spices and apple juice. Inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are able to check only a tiny percentage of the millions of shipments that enter the United States each year. Even so, [b]shipments from China were rejected at the rate of about 200 per month this year,[/b] the largest from any country, compared to about 18 for Thailand, and 35 for Italy, also big exporters to the United States, according to data posted on the FDA's Web site. Chinese products are bounced for containing pesticides, antibiotics and other potentially harmful chemicals, and false or incomplete labeling that sometimes omits the producer's name. To protect its foreign markets, China is trying to set up a dedicated export supply chain, sealed off from the domestic market, said Keyzer. [/QUOTE]

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