China says ingredients in pet food untainted

SHANGHAI -- China says checks on food exporters have turned up no sign of a chemical blamed for the deaths of cats and dogs in North America, and urged US authorities to refrain from further action against Chinese producers.

The government body responsible for overseeing food safety said it accompanied US Food and Drug Administration inspectors on visits to two companies blamed for the chemical contamination.

The incidents involving Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd. and Binzhou Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd. were "special individual cases," the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine said in a statement viewed on its website yesterday.

US inspectors said wheat gluten exported by the firms and used to make pet food was tainted with a mildly toxic melamine and caused the deaths of an unknown number of dogs and cats. That led to a recall of 154 brands of pet food contaminated with the chemical.

Chinese authorities have detained an undisclosed number of managers from the two companies.

The statement said FDA inspectors also expressed satisfaction with the quality controls and tracing measures in place at another exporter of vegetable protein, Sinoglory, saying those met US production standards for similar products.

China says the two companies added melamine to the gluten after failing to provide the protein level required in their contracts.

Melamine, used in plastics, fertilizers, and flame retardants, has no nutritional value but is high in nitrogen, making products to which it is added appear to be higher in protein.