I just read this in one of the weekly pet newsletters I subscribe to. This is a direct quote only because there is really no other way to describe something this appalling.
"Regulators in China have recently closed 180 food plants where inspectors uncovered more than 23,000 food safety violations."
For the love of DOGS people! 180!! Now to be fair, I'm sure it is a very small percentage of food plants considering the size of China but STILL. 1-8-0. And that includes people food. Some of the violations included using industrial chemicals (melamine I believe falls into that category), banned dyes and other illegal ingredients. SHEESH. I am glad we source all of our ingredients from North America. Every last one of them.
Just to beat this topic a little longer, another report states that one-fifth of China's consumer products do not meet government safety and quality standards. And just to be clear, those are the Chinese safety and quality standards. Many of these companies are small production facilities.
To get a broad view of the extent of the food contamination, check out this Washington Post article on-line. It's pretty scary.
I realize there are economic issues in China that are driving many of these infractions. I get that when people are hungry and trying to survive that they may do what they can to make money. I also understand that some people just might not know any better. If you weren't trained in chemistry, how would you know that certain dyes cause cancer? There is a bigger problem that goes beyond contaminated pet food ingredients.
On the flip side, the people purchasing these products are creating a demand for inexpensive (at any cost) products. If they aren't asking the questions of their suppliers because ignorance is bliss, then these companies are just as irresponsible. Again if you check out the Washington Post article, there is a suggestion that perhaps the wheat gluten was created for industrial use and that it was the companies who purchased the gluten who misused it. HMMM! There's a new twist.
Anyway, it is something to ponder this holiday week. Happy 4th of July to our neighbours (and yes that is neighbours with a U). Back to a full work week next week so enjoy your day.
mavis
Yikes. All good reasons to make our own dog foods AND PEOPLE FOODS. Yikes. Keep this information coming. It's good.
Posted by: Kal Barteski | July 04, 2007 at 05:17 PM
that is scary!
Posted by: s.patel | July 05, 2007 at 08:03 AM