Feed industry responds quickly to recall
The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) is working closely with member companies to alert and educate them about the recent voluntary recall of feed ingredients due to melamine contamination. The recall is the result of apparent melamine use in ingredients by a contract manufacturer.
AFIA fully supports the voluntary
recall of suspect ingredients used to make a binding agent for cattle,
sheep, goat and fish feeds. AFIA is in regular contact with the Food & Drug
Administration (FDA) and is distributing guidelines to feed companies to assist
in keeping the situation under control.
Review control
measures
AFIA is asking its 600 member companies to review their quality
control measures, identify and confirm ingredients in their supply chain and to
be particularly alert for any improper additives, including melamine.
“We have a system in place to promptly and efficiently respond to
extremely unlikely events such as this. What we are seeing is the system
operating as it should—government and industry working proactively to address
and minimize potential problems,” according to Association President Joel
Newman.
Little consumer risk
In FDA’s announcement, the
agency indicated melamine has not been found in food for humans and there is
little risk to consumers who eat meat or fish that may have ingested small
amounts of melamine. In fact, FDA officials pointed out in an extreme scenario
that if all the solid food a person consumed each day contained the chemical,
the potential exposure would be about 250 times lower than the dose considered
safe. For example, a 132-pound person would have to eat more than 800 pounds of
food containing melamine in one day to approach a level of consumption that
would cause a health concern.
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