Pet food recall indictment

mschauer

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I've very happy to see that the incident was seen by the US attorney's office as serious enough to warrant investigation and possible prosecution. At least they didn't just say "Well, only animals were affected so it was not really a problem.". Although I do suspect their primary concern is stopping the import of tainted food products from China so that they don't end up in the human food chain...
 

sharky

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HUM Likely yes a band aid but at least the REAL cuplrits are being sought...
 

jean44

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Here's a slightly more detailed version of the story. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...r=HOME_3798973

According to this version the owners of Chem Nutra knew that the wheat gluten was shipped into the country under "false pretenses" but did not know that it was toxic. If they knew it came in under false pretenses why did they accept the shipment? Profit? It's strange and disturbing.

At least I'm glad there have finally been indictments even if the motive is to protect the human food supply.
 

xocats

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I remember the emotional roller coaster from hell I experienced when Dexter & Sadie were poisoned by toxic pet food.

Is our human/pet food supply safer now...
I doubt it.

These people are just the tip of a huge and very dangerous iceburg.
 

momofmany

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I find it strange that the port of entry was Kansas City. I live here. You can't fly anywhere without hopping to another city. There isn't a lot of freight traffic at the airport. The rivers aren't big enough for barge traffic. Why was this the port of entry in the first place? Perhaps because there isn't a lot of overseas shipping here?

It is a tiny bandaid.
 
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hissy

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Here's to those who didn't make it
Nothing could pay enough for all the lives lost from this travesty.
 

laurag

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ChemNutra and company owners Sally Quing Miller, a Chinese national, and her husband, Stephen S. Miller, were charged with 13 misdemeanor counts of introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce, 13 misdemeanor counts of introduction of misbranded food into interstate commerce and one felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud

I bet she did know that the stuff was tainted, but the prosecutor can't prove that so they can only prove that Chem Nutra knew that the stuff was mislabeled.

The problem was so insideous that some companies ended up with the tainted stuff who didn't even know rice gluten was being added to their products by other suppliers. I believe that's what happened to the Dick Van Patten brand of cat food. The recipe that was to be followed wasn't to include, I think rice gluten. As pet owners were trying to find other foods that weren't affected, some (like me) turned to this brand as an alternative. The tainted rice gluten only affected the venison with green pea, but I had received a free sample when I purchased some of the canned food.

It was like trying to run away from a tornado to get away from the bad stuff.

I'm still wary, but have to trust that things are more carefully inspected now. These super premium brands have so many connections to larger suppliers in one way or another, it feels impossible. No ingredient list is going to tell us that the source of x ingredient is from China.

For my food, I absolutely do not buy any seafood that is Chinese, or from SE Asia. Too many water quality issues. I suspect that any seafood we have in cat food is from China or SE Asia. They aren't going to use wild caught salmon or tuna.
 

stormy

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Yeah, I agree it's not much but at least it's something. Maybe there will be more to follow.
 

xocats

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Originally Posted by hissy

Here's to those who didn't make it
Nothing could pay enough for all the lives lost from this travesty.
Here are more rainbow hearts in memory of those innocent furbabies who paid the ultimate price for human greed.
 

blaise

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The federal indictment...called for fines and jail time...for the owners of the importing company, ChemNutra, which is based in Las Vegas....ChemNutra and its owners, a married couple, Sally Qing Miller and Stephen S. Miller, knew that the shipment was mislabeled in a way that would allow it to leave China without testing...and the Millers did not disclose the mislabeling to pet food makers...The government cited e-mail messages sent or received by the Millers in 2006 in which the proper codes for wheat gluten and other proteins were discussed...In addition to accusing the Millers of helping the Chinese companies distribute tainted food, the indictment said the couple defrauded customers, the pet food makers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/bu...yt&oref=slogin


IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
WESTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v.

(1) SALLY MILLER, a/k/a

SALLY Q. MILLER, a/k/a,

SALLY QING MILLER,

[DOB 04/19/1966],

(2) STEPHEN S. MILLER,

[DOB 08/12/1952], and

(3) CHEMNUTRA, INC.,

Defendants.

No. 08 -
COUNTS ONE thru THIRTEEN
Distribution of Adulterated Food
21 U.S.C. §§ 331(a) and 333(a)(1)
NMT 1 Year Imprisonment
NMT $100,000 Fine ($200,000 for corporation)
NMT 1 Year Supervised Release
$25 Special Assessment ($125 for corporation)
Order of Restitution
Class A Misdemeanor

COUNTS FOURTEEN thru TWENTY-SIX
Distribution of Misbranded Food
21 U.S.C. §§ 331(a) and 333(a)(1)
NMT 1 Year Imprisonment
NMT $100,000 Fine ($200,000 for corporation)
NMT 1 Year Supervised Release
$25 Special Assessment ($125 for corporation)
Order of Restitution
Class A Misdemeanor

COUNT TWENTY-SEVEN
Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud
18 U.S.C. § 371
NMT 5 Years Imprisonment
NMT $250,000 Fine ($500,000 for corporation)
NMT 3 Years Supervised Release
$100 Special Assessment ($400 for corporation)
Order of Restitution
Class D felony

http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/...pdf&images=yes
 
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