Note: This was originally a "breaking" diary, but jhritz beat me by a few minutes. =) I am glad that a diary about this issue has finally made the recommended list. I have been covering this for a while, so I'm leaving this up in case anyone wants to read any previous coverage.End Note.
MSNBC has just issued a breaking news alert regarding the MenuFoods scandal.
FDA testing has confirmed that a type of rat poison - which is BANNED in the USA - was found during testing of products effected by the MenuFoods recall. Earlier, MenuFoods attempted to zero in on the wheat gluten additive as the source of the contamination. As it turns out, the batch of wheat used to make the gluten was imported from China.
This leads to a few questions:
- We are a net exporter of wheat - WHY is wheat being imported for use in animal food products? If we have a wheat surplus, shouldn't we be using domestic sources to manufacture these products?
- Why didn't MenuFoods catch this contamination during their initial quality control testing of the products?
The FDA will hold a press conference at 1pm. I don't know if I'll be around to cover this as I have errands to run. I'll update this post at TexasKaos when there is more info, and of course, yall are welcome to diary the press conference. In fact, please do, because this important news still isn't getting the coverage it deserves.
Previous TexasKaos coverage of the MenuFoods recall:
- Bring the Hammer Down: More Pet Deaths and Class Action Lawsuits Filed Against MenuFoods
- PSA: Massive Pet Food Recall - Please Check Your Pet Food!
- More Deaths Expected in MenuFoods Pet Food Recall
- MenuFoods KNEW Their Product Was Deadly; Lawsuit Filed (IMPORTANT UPDATE)
UPDATE: jhritz wrote posted a diary on this a few minutes before i did. normally i'd delete this for being duplicative, but i'm leaving it because this is an issue of interest for me and i've been covering it from the get-go. i hope that the information in the previous diaries will be helpful, and that's the main reason i'm leaving this up.