Many folks, including me, have wondered and worried about the ongoing disaster that has tainted many pet foods spreading to other food sources in America. Unfortunately, a frightening possibility became a toxic reality earlier this week with the announcement that some 2.5 million broiler chickens raised in Indiana had been fed pet foods contaminated with melamine.
That's just the tip of the iceberg, folks. Apparently, hundreds more poultry producers may have sold an undetermined amount of chickens that were fed melamine, not to mention a small number of pigs.
In an attempt to head off concerns over the lack of oversight displayed at the federal level, FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach appointed chief medical officer David Acheson, the agency's new assistant commissioner for "food protection."
Taking into account their dubious record when it comes to overseeing the poor excuse for drug safety in America, I can't imagine the actions of the FDA's new "food czar" will make much of a dent in the problem. Your best bet, as always, is to take matters into your own hands by choosing safer sources, meaning locally grown, organic foods.
Washington Post May 2, 2007USA Today May 1, 2007