WASHINGTON - None of the contaminated wheat gluten that led to the U.S. recall of pet
food went to manufacturers of food for humans, the ingredient's importer said
Tuesday.

The Chinese wheat gluten imported by ChemNutra Inc. all went to companies that make
pet foods, Stephen Miller, chief executive officer of the Las Vegas company, told The
Associated Press.

Miller declined to identify what companies ChemNutra supplied. Nearly 100 brands of
cat and dog foods made with the ingredient, since found to be chemically
contaminated, have been recalled.

The recalled pet food apparently has resulted in kidney failure in animals across the
country. The has confirmed 15 pet deaths, and anecdotal reports suggest hundreds of
cats and dogs may have died.

FDA testing of the wheat gluten has revealed it was contaminated with melamine, a
chemical with a variety of industrial uses, including the manufacture of plastic
kitchenware. As late as Monday, FDA officials had said they were uncertain if the
contaminated ingredient had been used in any foods destined for human consumption.

Last week, the FDA blocked wheat gluten imports from the Xuzhou Anying Biologic
Technology Development Co. in Wangdien, China, saying it was the source of the
contaminated product. The agency had refused to identify who had imported the
ingredient, used as a protein source.

"Obviously, if this ingredient was responsible, it's just very upsetting," Miller
told AP.

ChemNutra said it has recalled 873 tons of wheat gluten that it shipped to three pet
food makers and a single distributor who in turn supplies the pet food industry. The
company said the recall applied only to wheat gluten from Xuzhou Anying, one of its
three Chinese suppliers of the ingredient.

The importer shipped the product in 25-kilogram paper bags between Nov. 9 and March
8, when it learned the ingredient was suspected as the cause of the pet food
problems. ChemNutra said it then quarantined its wheat gluten inventory.

Each bag of wheat gluten included content analysis and test results provided by
Xuzhou Anying , ChemNutra said.

"The company is particularly troubled that the certificates of analysis provided by
the above-named supplier did not report the presence of melamine," ChemNutra said in
a statement

<http://www.boston.com/business/globe...as_human_food_
tainted_too/>

Was human food tainted too?
Suspect gluten went to plants that make products for people, FDA says

By Diedtra Henderson, Globe Staff | April 3, 2007 [excerpt]

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Tainted wheat gluten that triggered a massive
nationwide pet food recall also ended up in processing plants that
prepare food consumed by people, the Food and Drug Administration said
yesterday. While agency leaders offered assurances that the nation's
food supply remains safe, they said they cannot yet completely rule out
contamination of human food by the suspect wheat gluten, which contained
melamine, a chemical found in plastics and pesticides.

According to import records, the wheat gluten was shipped to the United
States from Nov. 3, 2006 to Jan. 23 of this year and contained "minimal
labeling" to indicate whether it was intended for humans or animals. The
vast majority went to pet food manufacturers and distributors, according
to the FDA. But some of the processing plants that remain under FDA
scrutiny make both human and pet food.

"To date, we have nothing that indicates it's gone into human food,"
said Dorothy Miller , director of the FDA's Office of Emergency
Operations . "We have a bit more investigation to do."......

Nexis wrote:
> WASHINGTON - None of the contaminated wheat gluten that led to the U.S.
> recall of pet food went to manufacturers of food for humans, the
> ingredient's importer said Tuesday.
>
> The Chinese wheat gluten imported by ChemNutra Inc. all went to
> companies that make pet foods, Stephen Miller, chief executive officer
> of the Las Vegas company, told The Associated Press.
>
<snipped>
>
>
Google ChemNutra Inc. for a link to the company's site; there are
further links to names of the company's principals as well as to the
products they supply.

Looks like the company's market niche is sourcing raw materials from
China for resale to U.S. feed, food and pharmaceutical industries.