Pigs that ate contaminated feed euthanized
The pigs in the US state Utah that believed to have eaten feed contaminated with melamine may be euthanized as a precautionary measure, state and local authorities said.
they will complete tests to determine whether the feed the pigs ate was tainted,
leaving local authorities somewhat frustrated.
About 2,500 swine at four
northern Utah hog farms could be affected by the action, which was initiated
Thursday by the US Food and Drug Administration. Those pigs are currently under
a voluntary “hold order,” preventing the sale or transportation of the animals,
according to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.
It is not known
whether any Utah pigs consumed contaminated feed. It is not known whether, if
they did consume tainted feed, they suffered ill effects. It isn’t known whether
any contaminated pork made it to market, or what effect, if any, consuming pork
from contaminated pigs would have on humans. Local and national experts said it
is very likely minimal.
Contamination in seven states
About
6,000 pigs in seven states — Utah, California, Kansas, North Carolina, New York,
Oklahoma and South Carolina — and possibly a feed plant in Missouri, were
potentially exposed to tainted feed, according to Kenneth Peterson, assistant
administrator for field operations at the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection
Service. Because the USDA can’t rule out the possibility that food produced from
animals fed the tainted product also is adulterated, it will not allow any
products from pigs in question to go to market.
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