Contaminated Pet Food & Government Regulations
Posted by
Rick PattersonMay 17, 2007 3:53 PMAs I am sure you are painfully aware, since March 16, more than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled due to melamine contamination. Many animal companions have suffered and died cruelly and unnecessarily as a result of the chemical-laced pet food, which was sold to trusting consumers and fed to unsuspecting animals. The emotional pain that many pet owners are going through is horrific. How bad would you feel knowing you bought and fed this poison to your loyal companion that is sick or dying as a result. Clearly, it is not the fault of the pet owner. Still, the misplaced feelings of guilt are often felt.
No doubt, as a result of the recent pet food contamination, it has been thought by many, and stated by the industry leaders, that the nation's growing reliance on foreign food supplies compromises security on a national level. "Imagine if this was a child - instead of 30,000 pets. How about 30,000 children? Would we be thinking, 'Gosh, I am glad I saved a few cents on that loaf of bread I bought,"' said John Thaemert, a Sylvan Grove farmer and wheat growers association president. Just this month, we were informed that 6,000 hogs had eaten contaminated pet food. Although, the risk to humans is low, the fact that the poison managed to get in to the human food chain is worth pondering at length.
Lets face it, we may save a buck but how regulated are these imported products by foreign governments. In the United States, products are highly regulated, which is not the case in many foreign countries. As with many of our products, gluten is imported from countries that sell it for the right price. We are simply unable to compete with the prices overseas. We would have to charge the consumer more because, compared to many countries, we pay our workers more. So as long as we are importing from countries that have cheap labor and few government regulations we will continue to run risks. Those are the cold, hard facts.