Chinese protein export contamination

Chinese protein export contamination refers to the contamination of several food and feed ingredients with inexpensive melamine and other compounds such as cyanuric acid. These ingredients can be used to inflate the apparant protein content of the product, so that inexpensive ingredients can pass for more expensive concentrated vegetable proteins.
Melamine by itself is not very toxic to animals or humans, but the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid has been implicated in kidney failure. Reports that cyanuric acid may be an independently and potentially widely-used adulterant in China have heightened concerns for both pet and human health
Chinese protein export contamination was first identified after the wide recall of many brands of cat and dog food starting in March 2007 (the 2007 pet food recalls). The recalls in North America, Europe and South Africa came in response to reports of kidney failure in pets. Several Chinese companies sold products claimed to be wheat gluten, rice protein or corn gluten, but which proved to be wheat flour adulterated with melamine, cyanuric acid, and other contaminants. The Chinese government was slow to respond, denying that vegetable protein was exported from China and refusing to allow foreign food safety investigators to enter the country Ultimately, the Chinese government acknowledged that contamination had occurred and arrested the managers of two protein manufacturers identified so far and took other measures to improve food safety and product quality
Reports of widespread adulteration of Chinese animal feed with melamine have raised the issue of melamine contamination in the human food supply both in China and abroad.On 27 April 2007, US FDA subjected all vegetable proteins imported from China, intended for human or animal consumption, to detention without physical examination, including: Wheat Gluten, Rice Gluten, Rice Protein, Rice Protein Concentrate, Corn Gluten, Corn Gluten Meal, Corn By-Products, Soy Protein, Soy Gluten, Proteins (includes amino acids and protein hydrosylates), and Mung Bean Protein. In a teleconference with reporters on 1 May, officials from the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture said that between 2.5 and 3 million people in the United States had consumed chickens that had consumed feed containing contaminated vegetable protein from China.Reports that melamine has been added as a binder in animal feed manufactured in North America also raise the possibility that harmful melamine contamination might not be limited to China.
In September 2008, Sanlu Group had to recall baby milk because it was contaminated with melamine. Over 6,000 babies became ill after drinking the milk; at least four babies died.
In October, 2008, shops in Britain recalled chocolate erotic spreads from Chinese manufacturer "Le Bang" due to melamine contamination in excess of 100x the legal limit.
History
Main article: Timeline of the 2007 pet food recalls
The contaminated vegetable proteins were imported from China in 2006 and early 2007 and used as pet food ingredients. The process of identifying and accounting for the source of the contamination and how the contaminant causes sickness is ongoing.
The first recalls were announced by Menu Foods late on Friday, 16 March 2007 for cat and dog food products in the United States. By 30 March the United States began to ban imports of wheat gluten from China. The Chinese government responded on 4 April by categorically denying any connection to the North American food poisonings refusing to allow inspection of facilities suspected of producing contaminated products.
However, on 6 April, the Chinese government told the Associated Press they would investigate the source of the wheat gluten. and by 23 April China gave permission to FDA investigators to enter the country.On 25 April Chinese authorities began to shut down and destroy the implicated factories and detain their managers
The following day, China's Foreign Ministry said it has banned the use of melamine in food products, admitting that products containing melamine had cleared customs while continuing to dispute the role of melamine in causing pet deaths. China also vowed to cooperate with U.S. investigators to find the "real cause" of pet deaths.
The United States Senate held an oversight hearing on the matter by 12 April. The economic impact on the pet food market has been extensive, with Menu Foods losing roughly $30 million alone from the recall.
On 24 April, for the first time FDA officials said that melamine had been detected in feed given to animals raised for human consumption within the United States.
As of 7 May, United States food safety officials stated: "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