On April 24, 2007, Paul Henderson of Menu Foods Income Fund Company testified before a U.S. Congressional subcommittee on food safety that the melamine found in wheat gluten used in the company’s recalled cat food and dog food products was put in the additive deliberately by the Chinese supplier used by the company. Menu Foods is the Canadian pet food supplier linked to cat and dog deaths in the United States caused by contaminated pet food.

Menu Foods supplied “cuts and gravy” food in over 90 different brands of cat and dog food distributed widely throughout the United States. Menu Foods bought wheat gluten from Chinese suppliers that was found to be contaminated with the chemical additive melamine, used in some fertilizers, plastics and medications in the U.S. but not approved for use as a food additive. Wheat gluten is used as a thickening agent in gravy.

Melamine is high in nitrogen and artificially boosts the protein level of gluten during tests, according to Menu Foods. The Chinese company supplying the product could charge more for the gluten based on a higher protein content, according to Menu Foods.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on April 24 that China has agreed to allow FDA inspectors into the plants involved in supplying the wheat gluten linked to the problems in the pet food supply. FDA officials said that contaminated pet food was also sent as feed to hog farms in California, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and possibly Ohio. Some of the hogs later tested positive for melamine, but it is unknown if any hogs which entered the food supply had melamine or if an additional danger could be present in human food products.

The House subcommittee is reviewing legislation that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) the authority to mandate recalls. Other legislation under discussion are proposals to create a single Food Safety Administration, and develop a uniform reporting system to track contaminated food.

Source: Stephen J. Hedges, “Call issued for better food safety net,” Chicago Tribune, April 25, 2007.