A Chinese company accused of selling contaminated wheat gluten to US pet food suppliers avoided inspections partly because it did not correctly disclose its shipping contents to Chinese export authorities, according to US regulators.
The Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co, one of two Chinese companies at the center of the huge recall of pet food that has killed or sickened thousands of animals, shipped more than 635 tonnes of wheat gluten labeled as nonfood products this year through a third-party Chinese textile company.
By listing the goods as nonfood items, the firm's shipments were not subject to mandatory inspection by the Chinese government.
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Though a possible violation of Beijing's export policies, such mislabeling is thought to be widespread in China.
The details of the case, some of them disclosed on Friday in a circular released by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are just the latest clues that Chinese feed suppliers may have been intentionally disguising the contents of their goods.
Several FDA officials are now visiting China to seek more information about how and why an industrial chemical used in plastics and fertilizer got mixed into pet food ingredients.
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
US regulators admit that six weeks after one of the biggest pet food recalls in US history, they still do not know exactly who in China manufactured the contaminated pet food ingredients or where in China the contamination took place.
Though the agency has named two Chinese companies as the suppliers of the tainted vegetable protein sent to the US, regulators suspect the companies may not have been manufacturing the feed, but buying it from dozens of other feed manufacturers in China.
Those feed producers, regulators say they believe, may have intentionally mixed melamine into the feed to inflate artificially the level of protein in the bags to meet pet food requirements.
The two Chinese companies named by US regulators last month have said little publicly since the recall.
Both companies are based in eastern China, near one of the country's biggest wheat-growing regions and also one of the centers of melamine production.
Melamine is an industrial chemical that animal feed producers here say has been intentionally mixed into feed to trick farmers into thinking they are buying higher protein meal, even though the chemical has no nutritional value.
The Chinese government said last week that it was unlikely melamine could have harmed so many pets in the US.
But on Friday, China banned melamine from use in any vegetable protein for export or for use in the domestic food market.
The FDA says that it has received reports that more than 4,000 cats and dogs died as a result of eating pet food that may have been laced with melamine.
Scientists are now struggling to determine why melamine, a chemical that is not believed to be toxic, may have turned poisonous.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS