Quarantine Lifted, Ceres Pigs Can Fly Again
By John Holland, The Modesto Bee, Calif.
May 16–Officials on Tuesday lifted quarantines on American Hog Farm near Ceres and other swine operations that used feed containing an industrial chemical.
The action allowed the West Monte Vista Avenue farm to resume selling hogs. Some are processed for direct sale to consumers, and some are sent to other processors.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said testing found that the chemical, melamine, did not accumulate in meat tissue but instead was filtered by the animals’ kidneys and excreted.
The USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture quarantined American Hog Farm on April 19, after melamine was found in hog urine and in feed obtained from a pet food plant in Lathrop.
When they took this action, officials stressed that the human health risk was very slight, but they were being especially cautious about protecting the food supply.
Don Agresti, co-owner of the 1,500-animal operation, said the quarantine cut into his business and was not necessary.
“They should have lifted it a long time ago, after they found out it was safe,” he said.
Quarantines also were lifted Tuesday at hog farms in North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Kansas, Utah and Illinois. They have about 56,000 animals.
Melamine, used to make plastics, is the same chemical that led to a nationwide recall of more than 100 brands of dog and cat food.
Officials said melamine was in a shipment of rice protein concentrate that was sent from China to a Diamond Pet Foods plant in Lathrop. That plant sold “salvage” pet food — product that had spilled or was kept out of the pet market for other reasons — to American Hog Farm, officials said.
The officials said the hogs that ate this feed appeared to be healthy, but they nonetheless urged people not to eat meat from animals sold there between April 4 and 19.
The federal government reiterated the low risk in Tuesday’s announcement.
Officials said that even if traces of melamine got into the pork, a 132-pound person would have to eat more than 800pounds of the meat per day to run any health risk.
“Clearly, that is a very unlikely situation,” said David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food protection at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
About 80,000 chickens fed contaminated feed remain on hold in Indiana until officials develop a test that can detect melamine levels in their flesh. A similar test was developed for pork.
Feed given fish at two fish farms in Hawaii and Washington state may have contained the same tainted Chinese ingredient used to make the pet food. Those fish also are being held until they and the feed they ate can be tested.
The Washington Post contributed to this report.
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