FDA Will Test Ingredients for Melamine

Melamine is now firmly on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory radar.

The FDA will begin inspecting food manufacturing facilities and testing protein ingredients following detection of the chemical in the U.S. food chain.

Even so, the FDA stresses that U.S. food manufacturers should view this as no excuse to let down their guard. In a letter to the industry, the FDA stressed that manufacturers are responsible for putting procedures in place that ensure the safety of their food ingredients and the packaging and processing supplies they use.

The decision follows recent detection of melamine in feed consumed by chickens and hogs consigned for human consumption.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, pet food manufactured from contaminated wheat gluten from China was mixed into feed used with 30 broiler chicken farms in Indiana. About 3 million chickens that consumed the feed have been processed and sold on the market.

In a letter sent to the food manufacturing industry last week, the FDA said it will work with state regulatory counterparts to inspect various food and feed facilities. The FDA also will conduct tests for the presence of melamine in a variety of protein ingredients and finished products containing such ingredients.

The effort will supplement surveillance the FDA already is conducting.

FDA samples primarily will be collected in the course of inspections of domestic food manufacturers or, in the case of imports, the point of entry. The samples then will be tested at laboratories throughout the country affiliated with the Food Emergency Response Network.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at May 15, 2007 09:46 AM | TrackBack