Pet-food recall spreads as deadly chemical<br> is found in another ingredient

The nationwide pet food recall was expanded yesterday after U.S. health officials found melamine in a rice-protein concentrate imported from China, Bloomberg News said.
Melamine – used in making fertilizers and plastic utensils – is the same substance already linked to the deaths of at least 16 pets. The earlier contamination was from wheat protein (gluten), also imported from China, that was used by Canada-based Menu Foods in more than 60 million cans and pouches of wet food.
The tainted rice protein was imported by Wilbur-Ellis Co. of San Francisco, and shipped to five pet-food makers, including California-based Natural Balance. Wilbur-Ellis said it has recalled the protein concentrate it shipped to those companies.
So far, contamination has been found in only two lines of Natural Balance pet food, according to Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is tracing shipments from Wilbur-Ellis to determine whether other pet food may also be tainted, Bloomberg said.. Sundlof said the agency also is seeking permission to inspect plants in China to determine whether the rice and wheat concentrates were intentionally contaminated so they would test higher in protein.

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