Single Young Feed Producer Seeks Melamine Scrap for Good Times & Profit

Posted on July 7, 2007
by Maureen Keene

Apparently it is no secret in China that melamine, a chemical made from coal, has been used for years as a way to artificially boost the protein content of animal feed.  No surprise really, in a place where counterfeit goods are a way of life and costs are cut at the expense of quality and safety.  (The cost of real protein: $6.  The cost of melamine scrap: $1.)  There are melamine scrap auctions and feed producers run classified ads on the Internet seeking the material.  The New York Times reports:

“Many companies buy melamine scrap to make animal feed, such as fish feed,” said Ji Denghui, general manager of the Fujian Sanming Dinghui Chemical Company, which sells melamine. “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.”

So, if it’s a widely acknowledged practice to use an ingredient typically used in the production of fertilizers and plastics as a food stuff for food stuffs, why didn’t the U.S. importers of the tainted wheat gluten know about it?  The answer has to be either they did know and looked the other way, or they were oblivious about the food ingredients they are importing.  I’m really not sure which is worse. 

From the same article:

“People use melamine scrap to boost nitrogen levels for the tests,” said the manager of the animal feed factory. “If you add it in small quantities, it won’t hurt the animals.”

The manager, who works at a small animal feed operation here that consists of a handful of storage and mixing areas, said he has mixed melamine scrap into animal feed for years.

He said he was not currently using melamine. But he then pulled out a plastic bag containing what he said was melamine powder and said he could dye it any color to match the right feed stock.

He said that melamine used in pet food would probably not be harmful. “Pets are not like pigs or chickens,” he said casually, explaining that they can afford to eat less protein. “They don’t need to grow fast.”

They don’t need to grow fast?  Well, they do need to eat food that doesn’t poison them to death.  I don’t know about you, but I do not want my food, my family’s food or my pets’ food to come from a country where disregard for law, safety and ethics is the prevailing attitude. 

Popularity: 14% [?]

Bookmark to:

Comments