Public to comment on USDA's handling of melamine

Fri May 25, 2007 3:10pm EDT
 
[-] Text [+]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday the public will be able to formally comment on the way it handled the discovery that the industrial chemical melamine was found in feed given to hogs and poultry.

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the public would have until August 28 to review its decision-making process.

USDA and the Food and Drug Administration have said that it was unlikely that pigs, chickens or fish that ate the contaminated feed would pose a risk to human health if consumed.

Melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizers, has been found in vegetable protein shipments from China that were used to make pet foods. More than 100 brands of pet foods have been recalled, and the pet food was later purchased by poultry, fish and hog feeders for use in their feeds.

 
Dr. Qurrath U. Ain of the Elmhurst Pediatric Emergency Center examines a patient with flu-like symptoms at Elmhurst Hospital in New York in this December 12, 2003. file photo. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/Files
Healthcare Reform

Reuters provides an in-depth look at the issues facing Americans as the Obama administration wrestles with healthcare policy.  Full Coverage 

Editor's Choice

A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours.  Slideshow 

Most Popular on Reuters

  • Articles
  • Video
Uninsured patient Josefa Martinez, 8, has her blood pressure measured during a health check-up at Venice Family Clinic in Venice, California, June 25, 2009.  REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
The healthcare disconnect

A successful reform package will have to address the cost for services for private versus public providers and employ innovative technological advances, writes Darrell West, author of Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era.  Commentary | Full Coverage 

Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better

Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better