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Hi Pam,
Many thanks for the regular, timely, and informative updates like this that
you provide!
Jon McGraw
Seafreeze
Seattle
_____
From: Pamela Tom [mailto:pdtom@ucdavis.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 10:33 AM
To: seafood@ucdavis.edu
Subject: News and information on contaminated Chinese wheat flour in some
feed for farmed fish
To: Seafood Community
Yesterday late afternoon the media began reporting that melamine appeared in
fish feed. I did not have details to back up this claim. However, this
morning Dr. Gary Jensen (Cooperative State, Research, Education and
Extension Service, US Department of Agriculture) emailed the following
notice and joint news release from the US Food and Drug Administration and
US Department of Agriculture regarding the very low risk to humans from food
containing melamine. [The USDA also released a melamine and analogues risk
assessment fact sheet:
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true
<http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2007/0
5/0129.xml> &contentid=2007/05/0129.xml .]
Here's what Gary Jensen's message contained:
Yesterday, the media released news about U.S. health officials learning that
some farmed fish in the U.S. were inadvertently exposed to feed contaminated
by an industrial chemical (melamine) linked to the recent pet food recall.
The contaminated ingredient from China led to the recent massive pet food
recall. U.S. government officials from numerous agencies are in consultation
on this issue and will continue to track the distribution of contaminated
feed batches and assess the need for any testing of feed and/or fish. It
appears that a limited amount of fish feed reached the U.S. with some used
at state public hatchery facilities rearing salmonid species. FDA has stated
the contamination level in fish is expected to be too low to pose a danger
to humans. The fish feed was manufactured in Canada and the feed
manufacturer has issued a recall of the known batch of contaminated feed
shipped to the U.S. No U.S. fish feed manufacturers have been implicated in
the use of this contaminated ingredient.
Fish is the third food animal in which the contaminated product was used to
make commercial feed sold in the U.S. Recently, some pork and poultry were
also inadvertently exposed to small amounts of contaminated feed. A risk
analysis referenced below in yesterday's government press release reached
the conclusion that in the case of pork and poultry, the exposure of the
contaminant posed a very low risk for human health. Quarantined animals can
be released for slaughter and sale.
Please be aware of the issue as you may receive inquiries from your
customers/clientele.
Dr. Alyson Mitchell (Associate Professor and Food Chemist at UC Davis) has
developed an informative PowerPoint presentation which gives background
information on melamine and the current situation. She will be posting this
information on her web site later on today or tomorrow. Her web site is
http://mitchell.ucdavis.edu <http://mitchell.ucdavis.edu> The Seafood
Network Information Center web site will also have a link to her site.
(Refer to the "update log" at http://seafood.ucdavis.edu
<http://seafood.ucdavis.edu> to find the link after tomorrow.)
The following are some news media links on the topic:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/business/worldbusiness/09food.html?ex=1336
449600
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/business/worldbusiness/09food.html?ex=133
6449600&en=bc4bbecf915a85e9&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink>
&en=bc4bbecf915a85e9&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050801
060.html?hpid=sec-health
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR200705080
1060.html?hpid=sec-health>
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-05-08-fda-melamine-fish_N
.htm?csp=34
<http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-05-08-fda-melamine-fish_
N.htm?csp=34>
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18556690/
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18556690/>
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/314891_fish09.html
<http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/314891_fish09.html>
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=f1d9c138-b2b3-4c9a-b538-2ec
fd378873f
<http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=f1d9c138-b2b3-4c9a-b538-2e
cfd378873f&k=77187> &k=77187
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/08/fish.food/index.html
<http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/08/fish.food/index.html>
Pamela Tom
University of California
Food Science and Technology Department
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
Web: http://seafood.ucdavis.edu <http://seafood.ucdavis.edu>
****************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
topFDA News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
P07-82
May 7, 2007
Media Inquiries:
FDA Press Office: 301-827-6242
USDA Press Office: 202-720-4623
Consumer Inquiries:
888-INFO-FDA
FDA/USDA Joint News Release: Scientists Conclude Very Low Risk to Humans
from Food Containing Melamine
USDA Releases Some Swine and Poultry for Processing
There is very low risk to human health from consuming meat from hogs and
chickens known to have been fed animal feed supplemented with pet food
scraps that contained melamine and melamine-related compounds, according to
an assessment conducted by scientists from five federal agencies.
In the most extreme risk assessment scenario, when scientists assumed that
all the solid food a person consumes in an entire day was contaminated with
melamine at the levels observed in animals fed contaminated feed, the
potential exposure was about 2,500 times lower than the dose considered
safe. In other words, it was well below any level of public health concern.
The risk assessment is an important new science-based component of the
continuing federal joint investigation into imported wheat gluten and rice
protein concentrate from China that contained melamine and melamine-related
compounds.
The risk assessment was conducted by scientists from the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This
team is now compiling a scientific assessment of the risk to animal health
associated with ingestion of animal feed containing melamine and its
compounds.
FDA and USDA are in the process of identifying a group of experts to convene
a scientific advisory board that would be charged with reviewing the risk
assessment. This group would also be asked to contribute to future
scientific analysis related to the risk of melamine and its compounds to
humans and animals.
In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that pet food was
contaminated by wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate that contained
melamine and its compounds. Subsequently, scraps of contaminated pet food
that contained only low levels of melamine were distributed to farms in a
limited number of states and added to the feed consumed by swine and
poultry. These scraps constituted only a small percentage of the farm animal
rations. In addition, melamine is known to be excreted in animal urine. When
exposure levels are much higher, as was the case with cats and dogs, the
melamine and its compounds appear to cause the formation of crystals in the
kidney systems, resulting in kidney damage. There was no indication of
kidney damage in hogs. Both hogs and chickens known to have been fed
contaminated feed appear to be healthy.
This dilution factor was an important piece of data considered in the
multi-agency science-based human risk analysis and helps to support the
conclusion that there is very low risk to human health from eating meat from
animals that were fed the contaminated product. This conclusion supports the
decision announced on April 28 not to recall meat from animals that were fed
contaminated product.
Currently, swine and poultry on farms suspected of receiving contaminated
feed are being held under state quarantine or voluntarily by the owners. In
several cases, feed samples have tested negative for melamine and related
compounds. These tests were conducted by federal laboratories or state
laboratories using approved methods. It is assumed that because only small
amounts of the contaminated feed were mixed with other rations, the melamine
and related compounds were no longer detectable. USDA has concluded that,
based on the human risk assessment and the inability to detect melamine in
the feed samples, these animals no longer need to be quarantined or withheld
from processing.
In other cases, feed samples have tested positive for melamine and related
compounds; feed samples were not available; or feed samples have not yet
been submitted for testing. These animals continue to be withheld from
processing, but are not yet being culled, pending the results of the animal
risk assessment. This assessment is expected to be completed within one
week. At that time, USDA will determine whether these animals can be
released for inspection and further processing.
USDA and FDA continue to conduct a full and comprehensive investigation. As
additional information is confirmed, updates will be provided and decisions
will be made using the best available science to protect the public's
health.
To ensure no further contaminated products enter the U.S., the federal
government will continue to monitor imported wheat and corn gluten as well
as rice protein concentrate and isolates arriving from all countries
destined for human and animal consumption. The FDA import alert for these
products sourced from China remains in effect and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection will continue laboratory testing of the products as they enter
the U.S. The inspections are a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of
products entering at U.S. ports of entry. There is no evidence to suggest
products bound for the human food supply are contaminated.
For additional information about the pet food and contaminated feed
investigation, go to www.fda.gov <http://www.fda.gov/default.htm> or
www.usda.gov <http://www.usda.gov> . The human safety/risk assessment will
be available online upon completion of an executive summary.
####
USDA
<http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2007/0
5/0129.xml> Fact Sheet : Melamine and Analogues Safety/Risk Assessment
RSS Feed for FDA News <http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/rssPress.xml>
Releases [what's this? <http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/newsfeeds.html> ]
ruleGet free <http://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=fda-newsdigest-l&A=1>
weekly updates about FDA press releases, recalls, speeches, testimony and
more. rule
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