How melamine gets into the food - Page 1

The International Herald tribune had some really shocking information about how melamine is mixed into animal feed. Here are excerpts from the article: Here at the Shandong Mingshui Great Chemical Group factory, huge boiler vats are turning coal into melamine, which is used to create plastics and fertilizer. But the leftover melamine scrap, small acorn-sized chunks of white rock, is then being sold to local entrepreneurs, who say they secretly mix a powdered form of the scrap into animal feed to artificially enhance the protein level. “It just saves money,” says a manager at an animal feed factory here. “Melamine scrap is added to animal feed to boost the protein level.” The practice is widespread in China. For years animal feed sellers have been able to cheat buyers by blending the powder into feed with little regulatory supervision, according to interviews with melamine scrap traders and agricultural workers here. “Many companies buy melamine scrap to make animal feed, such as fish feed,” says Ji Denghui, general manager of the Fujian Sanming Dinghui Chemical Company. “I don’t know if there’s a regulation on it. Probably not. No law or regulation says ‘don’t do it,’ so everyone’s doing it. The laws in China are like that, aren’t they? If there’s no accident, there won’t be any regulation.” Most local feed companies do not admit that they use melamine. But last Friday here in Zhangqiu, a fast-growing industrial city southeast of Beijing, a pair of animal feed producers explained in great detail how they purchase low-grade wheat, corn, soybean or other proteins and then mix in small portions of nitrogen-rich melamine, whose chemical properties give a bag of animal feed an inflated protein level under standard tests. “If you add it in small quantities, it won’t hurt the animals,” said one animal feed entrepreneur whose name is being withheld to protect him from prosecution. The man - who works in a small animal feed operation that consists of a handful of storage and mixing areas - said he has mixed melamine into animal feed for years.

Added to fish feed. Scary since if people read labels much of the fish and shell fish sold in stores is farm raised in China......

I was just looking at th efish display case in Walmart the other day and something was labeled from China. I know I wouldn't have bought it if it was the last piece of seafood in the world...

Sam's Club also sells fish from China. We have bought some in the past but never again.

Good point about the fish feed. Also I find it ironic how many people in the fairly recent past would always advocate "BUY AMERICAN" etc. "Made in USA" labels to support the economy. Now, seems like the same consumers shop at Walmart because it's less expensive than many other stores, including other 'big box' outlets. The down side is that most things there are from China. They also are notorious for forcing prices down and creating incentive for manufacturers to cheapen the product in order to be able to compete at Walmart. As for how much of it is made in the USA? Check the labels. So even fish, tainted dog food and yes, "American" flags are now Chinese. Therefore, especially when it comes to my food or pet food, I'm buying local these days as much as possible, even if I have to spend a little more.