The FDA served search warrants on two pet food plants that manufactured ingredients involved in the recall of millions of cans of pet food.

From the AP:

Menu Foods also said the U.S. Attorney’s offices in Kansas and the western district of Missouri have targeted the company as part of misdemeanor investigations into whether it violated the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. The sale of adulterated or contaminated food is a misdemeanor. A Justice Department spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

“Menu Foods has been doing everything it can to cooperate with the FDA,” company chief executive officer Paul Henderson said in a statement. “Even before commencement of this investigation we have given the FDA full access to our plant and our records, have answered questions and provided documents to them any time they have asked.”

FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza would not confirm or deny that a search warrant was executed. “We have a strict policy of not discussing activities of our Office of Criminal Investigations,” she said.

ChemNutra said it had been informed the company could be held accountable because it imported the melamine-adulterated wheat gluten used in the tainted pet food even though the company had no knowledge that its Chinese supplier had introduced melamine into the product.

“We have cooperated and complied fully with FDA investigators both prior to and since being served with today’s search warrant, and will continue to do so,” Steve Miller, chief executive officer of ChemNutra, said in a statement. “We keep very good records, which has made it relatively easy for the investigators to retrieve what they needed.”

Our money is on China as the fallguy. —MEGHANN MARCO

U.S. agents search two pet food plants [Houston Chronicle]
(Photo: Lone-Star)

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