[Cagdu] FW: Los Angeles Times: 3 firms charged in case of tainted pet food

Fri Feb 8 17:42:43 PST 2008

Subject: Los Angeles Times: 3 firms charged in case of tainted pet food

>From the Los Angeles Times

PRODUCT SAFETY

3 firms charged in case of tainted pet food
A Las Vegas importer and two Chinese companies are
indicted after thousands of dogs and cats died or
became sick last year.
By Abigail Goldman
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

February 7, 2008

A Las Vegas food import company, two Chinese
businesses and the companies' top executives were
indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in
connection
with their parts in a tainted-pet food scandal last
year that sickened or killed thousands of dogs and
cats, the Justice Department said.

The announcement by John F. Wood, U.S. attorney for
the Western District of Missouri, marks the first time
that a domestic company has faced criminal charges
because melamine -- a chemical found in plastics that
can cause kidney failure in animals -- was added to
shipments of wheat gluten, a binding agent used
in pet foods.

The pet food contamination crisis, which prompted the
recall of more than 60 million containers of dog and
cat food, was the first in a wave of product
scares that alarmed the American public about the
quality of goods made in China.

Melamine can artificially inflate the apparent protein
content of food additives, allowing exporters to use
cheaper ingredients, the indictment said.

"In today's global economy, crimes that occur halfway
around the world can seriously impact our lives," Wood
said. "Millions of pet owners remember the
anxiety of last year's pet food recall. These
indictments are the product of an investigation that
began in the wake of that recall."

ChemNutra Inc., which imports Chinese food and
ingredients for distribution across the United States,
along with married owners Sally Qing Miller, 41, and
Stephen S. Miller, 55, were charged in a 27-count
indictment with evading mandatory inspections of the
ingredients in China, delivering adulterated food,
misbranding food and conspiring to defraud the
companies that unknowingly bought the tainted
ingredient. All but the conspiracy count are
misdemeanors.

"ChemNutra and Steve and Sally Miller deny in the
strongest of terms the allegations by the Department
of Justice and look forward to the opportunity to
prove their innocence at trial," the company said in a
statement. "Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Miller had any intent
to defraud or any knowledge of wrongdoing."

Wood said the felony count against ChemNutra and the
Millers alleged that they knew the Chinese exporters
had put an incorrect product code on the exports
-- allowing the shipment to leave China without the
normal inspections of food -- and didn't disclose that
fact to their customers.

"We don't allege that they knew that the wheat gluten
was adulterated with the melamine," Wood said in an
interview. "But to convict, we don't have to show
that they knew. . . . You are responsible for the
content of the food ingredients that you're selling
and therefore can be charged with the misdemeanor
if you distribute adulterated or misbranded food,
regardless of whether you knew if it was adulterated
or misbranded."

In a separate case, the grand jury returned a 26-count
felony indictment against two Chinese companies and
their top executives, accusing them of intent
to defraud and mislead, delivering adulterated foods
and falsely labeling wheat gluten to avoid export
inspection.

Those charges name Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology
Development Co., a Chinese processor of plant
proteins; Chinese owner Mao Linzhun, age unknown,
whose
name is spelled Mao Lijun in Chinese records; Suzhou
Textiles, Silk, Light Industrial Products, Arts &
Crafts I/E Co., a Chinese export company; and its
president, Chen Zhenhao, 58, a Chinese national.

If convicted on all counts, the Chinese nationals
could face a maximum of 78 years in prison. The two
Americans could face as much as 31 years each behind
bars -- five years for the felony and one year for
each misdemeanor charge.

Although the United States does not have an
extradition treaty with China, Wood said the Justice
Department would seek arrest warrants for Mao and Chen
that could be enforced should either man travel
outside China. The indictment also could prevent the
companies from doing business with U.S. companies,
Wood said.

The Chinese government shut down Xuzhou Anying last
year and arrested Mao. Prior to his arrest, Mao said
in an interview that he had done nothing wrong.
Wood said it was unclear if Mao was still in custody.

Suzhou Textiles reportedly has denied involvement in
the case, and there is no indication that its company
has been shut down or anybody arrested. Businesses
are closed for the Chinese new year holiday this week,
and no one answered the phone Wednesday at Suzhou
Textiles' office in Suzhou, an hour's drive from
Shanghai.

For some pet owners, many of whom were radicalized by
the scandal as they grieved for sick and dying animals
or worried that pets could succumb to the toxins,
the indictments came as a surprise.

"I didn't think anyone in government thought it was
all that serious because it was 'just pets,' " said
Christie Keith, a contributing editor for
PetConnection.com,
which last year became a clearinghouse for information
about the tainted food as well as a site that
thousands of pet owners turned to for moral support.

"Whether it satisfies me or not depends on what
happens," Keith added.

"If the penalties end up being big enough or even if
the process is onerous enough that it can have a
deterrent effect on companies both here and overseas,
then it might have a positive impact."

The problems with pet food began last March, when Menu
Foods Income Fund of Ontario, Canada, launched a
massive recall after receiving reports of sick and
dying animals.

More than 150 brands and more than 5,000 products were
hit by the recalls. Millions of chickens, 56,000 swine
and an undetermined number of fish may have
eaten tainted feed.

Wood said the investigation into the tainted
ingredients is ongoing, meaning that other charges
could follow.

abigail.goldman@ <mailto:abigail.goldman%40latimes.com> latimes.com
Times staff writer Don Lee in Shanghai contributed to
this report.

latimes.com
http://www.latimes.
<http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-petfood7feb07,0,25324.story>
com/business/la-fi-petfood7feb07,0,25324.story
Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times |

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