Was the Pet Food Contamination Deliberate?

Susy Owen

Attorney

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When the pet-food recall originally began almost a month ago, consumers were told that the cause was unknown. It then came to light that the tainted pet food may have been due to the presence a chemical used to kill rodents, albeit not in this country. Soon after that, wheat gluten, a source of protein, was blamed for tainting pet food. Finally, it was noted that another chemical, melamine, used for plastics was found in the food.

One theory that is currently on the table with respect to the tainted pet food is that the Chinese supplier, XuZhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd. deliberately put the chemical melamine into the wheat gluten that they provided to the United States. According to ChemNutra's CEO Steve Miller, which is the company that imported the tainted products, "We are concerned that we may have been the victim of deliberate and mercenary contamination for the purpose of making the wheat gluten we purchased appear to have a higher protein content than it did, because melamine causes a false high result on protein tests."

Earlier this month, the director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine made allegations that the chemical melamine may have been intentionally added to the wheat glueton. It appears that a higher protein content in the wheat gluten would potentially raise the value of the wheat gluten.