I am constantly amazed at the degree to which we have become dependent on Chinese products to maintain our standard of living. I recently noticed a warning sign on an expensive 'organic' bag of potting mix warning me not to put my hands in it. On investigation it appears that China is selling Australian garden suppliers dirt, complete with unspecified nasties including heavy metals! Sometimes I wonder - now that they are even selling their own soil - if there will actually be any China left!
So it came as no surprise to see this report about chickens:
"Around 3 million chickens that are currently being sold in stores and supermarkets across America have been contaminated by the chemical melamine. Melamine is used in industrial glues, fire retardants and fertilisers, and has so far killed a dozen cats and dogs that have eaten contaminated pet food. The chemical has entered the human food chain because scraps of the pet food were added to the animal feed given to several thousand pigs and millions of chickens.
US health inspectors have traced the contamination back to Chinese suppliers, who added it to the pet food to make it appear their products contained more protein than they actually did. Only 345 pigs that ate the contaminated feedstuff went to market, but inspectors fear that up to 3 million chickens may currently be for sale in the shops.
Inspectors stress that the contaminated meat poses a very low health risk to humans, but this will do little to assuage a public that believes there are too few controls on what is put into our food."
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