The head of the Chinese FDA (Food and Drug Administration) was
condemned to death by the Chinese government during the week of
July 16, in the aftermath of the scandal surrounding the death of
several pets in the United States from contaminated food.
Apparently he was convicted of taking bribes and being in charge of
a corrupt agency. I guess justice is a little tougher in China than
it was for Scooter Libby here.
The head of the Chinese FDA (Food and Drug Administration) was condemned to death by the Chinese government during the week of July 16, in the aftermath of the scandal surrounding the death of several pets in the United States from contaminated food. Apparently he was convicted of taking bribes and being in charge of a corrupt agency. I guess justice is a little tougher in China than it was for Scooter Libby here.
The U.S. is China’s biggest trading partner. The damage to their balance of trade was apparently enough to anger those in charge. In an attempt to demonstrate their seriousness in regaining the confidence of the U.S. government and consumers, they created a fall guy. Unfortunately it is unlikely to result in any long term changes in a system that is corrupt and almost impossible to police under their system of law.
All imports from China are going to come under more scrutiny, at least while it is politically correct to do so. Sadly, with the minimalist approach our country’s current administration takes toward oversight and regulation of private enterprise, it is likely that the closer oversight will fade along with the memory of this incident.
Melamine, the chemical associated with the recall, has also been found to be used as a binding agent in some food used for food producing animals in this country (pigs, cattle, sheep and shrimp). In this case the melamine was added by domestic animal food manufacturers.
There is no recall associated with this because the FDA (U.S. version) has estimated that the amount of meat required to be eaten from a melamine contaminated food animal that would actually be dangerous for a human being is approximately 800 pounds per day.
Nonetheless the FDA has required the feed producers to stop using melamine as a binding agent. In the case of the dead cats and dogs, it has been stated that melamine is likely not to be the actual agent that caused the problems. It is thought that it was a marker for some other toxic agent. The numbers of animals ultimately affected will probably never be known and it is questionable whether the actual toxic agent responsible for the deaths will be known.
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Other news of interest to local pet lovers was the second annual Wag-A-Bout held Saturday at the dog park in Community Park. It was a fund raising event to help pay for ongoing maintenance of the off-leash dog park in Morgan Hill. Additionally some of the funds raised will be donated to the Friends of the San Martin Animal Shelter (FOSMA).
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We are in the midst of the summer heat. Be very cautious about transporting pets and leaving them in cars. The inside of a car can rapidly climb to death dealing heat in a matter of minutes.
Even having your pet in the open back end of a pickup has its hazards. The direct sun exposure on the hot metal surfaces can cause superficial burns and induce heat stroke. The other hazard associated with this form of transport is dogs flying out of the truck in accidents and on tight turns. Every year we end up either treating or euthanizing dogs that have suffered unnecessary injuries because the owners have failed to restrain them as the law dictates. Dogs in the back of pickup trucks must be on an 18 inch or shorter leash that is attached to the truck in such a way that they cannot go over the side wall of the truck. Failure to do this can result in a ticket or much worse.
