Tainted Wheat Flour – Not Gluten – Responsible for Pet Deaths, Food Recalls

In an interesting new twist, federal investigators have discovered that wheat flour mislabeled as wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate has caused at least 3,000 pet deaths in the United States. The ingredient was exported by two Chinese companies already under investigation and may have been included in some pet foods since 2006, said David Acheson, MD, assistant commissioner for food protection at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Acheson acknowledged that contaminated pet food was used in animal feed for poultry and swine, and added fish meal to the list for the first time on May 8, 2007. FDA officials, who have been in China investigating two facilities since last week, are “considering possible enforcement action,” Acheson said.

In other recall-related news, Menu Foods and Chenango Valley Pet Foods expanded product recalls on May 3, 2007, due to suspected cross-contamination at several facilities that used the contaminated wheat flour in products. An updated list of affected products is posted online.

FDA officials uncovered the link to fish meal while looking through ChemNutra files, Acheson said. Tainted shipments of wheat flour were sent to Canada through ChemNutra. Canadian companies used the tainted wheat flour (mislabeled wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate) in fish meal and sent the finished product to aquaculture firms in the United States.

The names of companies – and fisheries – that used contaminated fish meal were not released. FDA officials said they do not believe that fish, poultry and swine that may have consumed contaminated feed would not pose a human health risk because of the diluted nature of the chemical at the point of consumption.