couple plead guilty Chemnutra Inc.

 here is the article from a year ago in support of Chemnutra!

 http://www.foodproductdesign.com/articles/2008/06/the-chemnutra-indictment-a-sign-of-things-to-come.aspx

I didn't read in-dept all the way thru the second, but "not knowing" can be such a cop out but the fact that they knew it had been mis-labelled should have indicated some caution should be used.

Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that we've allowed big business to so manipulate things from a status of money and power that I'm hoping the FDA will have a zero tolerance policy -- it's difficult enough already to prove to the FDA that something is dangerous (think ProHeart 6 which has been brought back out despite enormous public outcry simply because there is HUGE money behind it). 

In the past several years (I'm thinking everything from Enron on down) it has begun to dawn on people that they've allowed too much power to big business without any accountability.  There is precious little moral stance ever taken that maybe ABC Whatever just isn't a good idea because it looks questionable and COULD someone/something get hurt as a result.  If it's gonna make money someone wants to shove it thru "without knowing" more.

Yes...this just came out as an alert from the FDA.  Just brings back a lot of hurt.

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/news2009/miller.ple.htm   

If I remember correctly, melamine was added because it has a high nitrogen signature. And tests for protein present are based on the amount of nitrogen present in a sample. In fact, special formuas for pets with distressed kidneys are usually labelled NFE, such as Purina NF, meaning nitrogen free. In those foods, the proteins are gained from vegetable sources, such as soy, so that the animal still gets protein while giving the kidneys a rest.

When an animal, such as a human or a dog or a cat consumes animal protein, nitrogen is released. Normally, this nitrogen is passed out of the body in urine. When the kidneys are distressed, they can't process the nitrogen so well and it backs up in the system, causing nausea and lethargy.

So, the scam with melamine is to up the nitrogen content, making it look like it's just full of protein.