May 7, 2007

 

US halts sale of 20 million chickens that may have eaten tainted feed

 

 

Large-scale US chicken producers in several states have been asked not to process 20 million broiler chickens because they may have eaten feed contaminated with the chemical melamine, a US Department of Agriculture spokesman said Friday (May 4).

 

The USDA doesn't know how many of the chickens that were fed the tainted feed have already been processed and consumed by the public before the producers in several states were asked to stop further commercial activity, but government officials are investigating, USDA spokesman Keith Williams said.

 

"We'll continue running that down," he said.

 

Williams would not name the states or producers involved, nor provide an exact number for either.

 

USDA and Food and Drug Administration officials said earlier this week that they believed only 2.5 million to 3 million chickens on Indiana farms had been exposed to the tainted feed. But subsequent investigations show "larger commercial contractors also purchased and used this adulterated feed--hence the 20-million figure," Williams said.

 

A "risk assessment" is being performed, Williams said, and producers will be notified as early as Monday as to whether or not they will be able to market the 20 million chickens being kept on hold.

 

Initial tests haven't detected the chemical melamine in chicken feed at the farms where Williams said the tainted feed was distributed.

 

Chicken farmers buy salvaged pet food as a cheap feed source. Salvaged pet food can include food that has spilled from bags during manufacturing and is therefore unsuitable for consumption by dogs and cats.

 

The pet food involved contained supplements that were tainted with melamine in China and then exported to the US. Melamine can make supplements appear to have falsely higher protein levels which command a higher price for the producer.

 

USDA and FDA officials have said repeatedly that they do not believe that meat from chickens that consumed the tainted feed present a threat to human consumers.