and the antifreeze in the cough syrup was already in the bottles
China confirms exports to U.S. contained melamine - USATODAY.com
By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY BEIJING — Chinese authorities acknowledged for the first time Thursday that ingredients exported to make pet food in the USA contained melamine, a chemical the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspects led to scores of pet deaths in the past month.As Beijing stepped up efforts to investigate the contamination, including allowing FDA inspectors to visit China, experts here said the fragmented nature of China's vast food processing industry makes inspection difficult and increases the likelihood of future problems.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said in a statement issued Thursday that an investigation found melamine in wheat gluten and rice protein exported to the USA by two Chinese companies. Previously China has denied exporting any tainted pet-food ingredients to the USA and Canada. The contaminated shipments avoided US customs inspection because they were not declared as pet food ingredients, the statement said. They were declared as products not requiring inspection.
But the ministry rejected FDA claims that the melamine was to blame for harming pets.
"There is no clear evidence showing that melamine is the direct cause of the poisoning or death of the pets," the statement said. "China is willing to strengthen cooperation with the U.S. side ... to find out the real cause leading to the pet deaths in order to protect the health of the pets of the two countries."
[snip]
Binzhou Futian Bio-Technology Company, one of two firms China now admits exported the melamine-laced products, told its U.S. client Wilbur-Ellis that the contamination occurred through accidental reuse of dirty packaging, according to company president John Thacher.
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