WEDNESDAY, May 30, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- Two U.S. manufacturers of an ingredient used in livestock and fish food have recalled some of their products due to contamination with the chemical melamine, U.S. health officials said today.
Melamine, a chemical typically found in fire retardants and plastics, was the cause of the massive pet food recall that began in March. Officials believe that companies in China added the compound to wheat products to falsely inflate their protein content. Those products were later exported and mixed in with pet food, as well as livestock and fish feed, in the United States.
This recall differs from the previous recall, because the source of the contamination is within the United States, Dr. David Acheson, the assistant commissioner for food protection at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said during an afternoon teleconference.
"This is not directly linked to the pet food situation," Acheson said. "It is another recall of a melamine product, but it is not a product that has wound up in pet food," he added.
The FDA is alerting livestock, fish and shrimp feed manufacturers of feed ingredients from two companies -- Tembec of Toledo, Ohio, and Uniscope of Johnstown, Colo.
The estimated amounts of melamine in the feed is similar to that seen in prior recalls, and, in a statement, the FDA said that meat or eggs from animals fed these products "is very unlikely to pose a human health risk."
The affected products contain melamine and melamine-related compounds. Tembec is a contractor for Uniscope and makes two -- AquaBond and Aqua-Tec 2 -- which are used as a binder in fish feed. These products are used domestically and they are also exported.
Uniscope informed the FDA on May 18 that these products contained melamine. This was done after the FDA asked manufacturers of animal feed to look for melamine in their products.
Uniscope also makes a product called Xtra-Bond with ingredients supplied by Tembec, which is intended for use in livestock feed, Acheson said. This product is used as a binder when making pellet feed for cattle, sheep and goats. Xtra-Bond is used only in the United States.
"Melamine was added by Tembec as part of the formulation of the products for improving the binding properties of pelleted feed," Acheson said. "Melamine is not an approved additive for animal fish or shrimp feed, and the companies have stopped adding melamine to the feed product," he added.
FDA is advising feed manufacturers to stop using feed that contains AquaBond or Aqua-Tec 2 due to the levels of melamine in the finished products, Acheson said. "FDA believes there is no need to recall feed made with Xtra-Bond, based on the low levels of melamine and melamine-related compounds," he said.
Agency officials also noted that Tembec and Uniscope products reportedly contain a "urea formaldehyde resin-type ingredient," used as a binding agent. In a statement, the FDA said it was launching an investigation of this contaminant "and will take appropriate regulaory action if warranted."
More information
For more information on melamine-tainted feed, visit the U.S, Food and Drug Administration.
