FDA: No Sign of Human Illness from Hogs Exposed to Melamine
In a joint statement, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) stressed, "We are not aware of any human illness that has occurred from exposure to melamine or its by-products." They added that they have identified no illnesses in swine fed the contaminated feed.
The USDA first announced on Thursday that meat from 345 hogs suspected of eating the contaminated feed had entered the U.S. food supply. Some 6,000 hogs suspected of eating the contaminated product have since been quarantined and meat from these animals would be withheld from the food supply, both agencies said.
The recall of melamine-contaminated pet food has been ongoing for weeks now with dozens of deaths and illness of pets throughout the United States. Given that these products were recalled, one really has to ask – “why were pigs being fed recalled pet food?” And, "can you really trust the government with our food safety given the last several months filled with outbreaks of salmonella-tainted tomatoes and peanut butter and E. coli-tainted meat, spinach and lettuce?"