| Indictment Handed Down for Tainted Pet Food |
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Federal indictments are handed down for three companies accused of distributing tainted pet food in the U.S.
Two of those companies are based in China the third is in Las Vegas.
The U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City filed the indictment Thursday because that is where the poisonous food was first sent.
From there it was distributed to makers of various brands of cat and dog food.
The U.S. Attorney's office says these companies caused a lot of heartache for American pet owners.
U.S. Attorney, John Wood says, "Millions of pet owners across the United States remember the anxiety of last year's pet food recall. These indictments are the product of an investigation that began in the wake of that recall."
Officials estimate at least 1,900 cats and 2,200 dogs died after eating the contaminated food. |
February 07
Sen. Durbin Comments on Indictment of Chinese Pet Food Firms
from Sen Durbin's office, Feb 7, 2008
[WASHINGTON, DC] – United States Senator *** Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement in response to the federal indictment of a U.S. company and two Chinese businesses for knowingly importing tainted ingredients used to make pet food. The unsafe pet food killed thousands of pets last year.
“Too often, American consumers are treated like guinea pigs by companies who put profits over public health. The prosecution of those responsible for the deaths of thousands of pets around the country sends a clear signal -- the integrity of our food safety system must be taken seriously.”
“Congress must now pass legislation implementing user-fees for the inspection of food imports and provide the USDA with the resources they need to improve the oversight of imported food products.”
Senator Durbin has been actively engaged on food safety issues for over a decade. Last year, following the deaths of thousands of pets around the country, Durbin called a hearing to take meaningful action in addressing problems in federal regulation of the pet food industry. This Congress he’s called for the implementation of a food safety program to standardize American food safety (The Imported Food Security Act of 2007 - S.177.)