Swiss pull false corn gluten from market

Certain Chinese exporters had qualified cereal by-products mixed with urea as
being corn gluten. Although urea is allowed in ruminant feeds, its derivates
melamine and cyanuric acid, which were also found, are prohibited. ALP has blocked the questionable loads.

ALP
officers took 63 corn gluten samples of which 11 samples did not contain corn
gluten. These falsified products contained a mixture of grain by-products,
mainly wheat, in which large amounts of urea were found.

Analysis of the
samples revealed that up to 15% of urea was added to finally reach a raw protein
content of 60% like it would be expected in a corn gluten sample.

Two
other ingredients, melamine and cyanuric acid were found in four of the 11
samples. Both substances are not permitted in the animal
feeding.

2,500 tonnes imports
The fraud concerns about 2,500
tonnes of corn gluten, which were imported during the last six months into
Switzerland.

Following the investigations of ALP, and together with the
feed trade, the doubtful loads were identified and blocked. Depending upon the
found contents materials that were permitted have been relabelled for ruminant
feeding or destroyed if they contained illegal products.

A large part of
the commodities had already been fed to farm animals before they were
discovered, but according to information of the European Feed safety Authority
(EFSA) and the US Food and Drug Adiminstration (FDA) there is no danger for consumers.

China
main supplier
Some 80% of all corn gluten originates from China. Corn
gluten is a protein-rich raw material (approx. 60% raw protein), which is widely
used in ruminant and poultry feeding.

In the past Switzerland imported
these feedstuffs from the US. But GM-problems forced the Swiss to look for a new
supplier, which became China. Annually 50,000 tonnes is imported.