Does your business depend on risky Chinese imports? Are FDA Import Alerts slowing your production line? Don’t buy higher priced US ingredients; there are experts ready to help your business get all the cheap vegetable proteins, milk powders and any other flagged ingredient quickly past FDA inspectors.
When you operate a website with ‘pet food’ in the name, you receive emails from Chinese companies promoting their ‘wares’. I’ve received several over the past couple of years from Chinese suppliers of pet food ingredients; mostly pitching typical pet food ingredients like corn and wheat glutens, rice proteins, and even animal protein products like ‘meat and bone meal’. Recently I received an email from a Chinese based transportation company specializing in ‘export trade’.
The email stated:
Let us give you a little intro to KIRIN TRANSPORTATION LTD. Kirin Transportation is mid-size company for almost 10 years. We have direct branches in Shanghai, ShenZhen, Hong Kong, and Taipei as our headquarter. We have at least one agent in more than 50 countries worldwide! So, you can imagine our strength and knowledge in this business.
Services :
o International cargo service and Mainland China multiple transportation cargo.
o International logistic service (packing, re-packing, labeling…)
o Inland Transportation , transshipment, container stuffing, break-bulk service, less container load cargo service.
o Import & export trade agent: Import & Export custom clearance.
Without some knowledge of importing tricks, you might not think much of the ‘services’ offered by this Chinese transportation company. However, thanks to a recent investigation from Seattle News Service, we now know this email tells volumes of what’s really happening in our country. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/394053_honey30.asp
Honey production is down in the US, yet honey consumption remains steady; we are consuming imported honey. The FDA has added Chinese honey to the Import Alert list due to known illegal contaminants common to Chinese honey. When a product is added to the FDA Import Alert list, all shipments of ‘that product’ from ‘alert list countries’ must be tested prior to passing through customs. Not a problem for the smart exporter. As the Seattle News article explained, smart exporters simply ship Chinese honey to another country that is NOT on the FDA Import Alert list, the product is re-labeled, the ‘country of origin’ information is changed, and the honey is successfully shipped into the US.
Understanding the tricks of exporting, do you realize why I received an import/export transportation advertisement email from this Chinese company?
Chinese companies see ‘pet food’ in my website name and assume I am a manufacturer, a potential customer. My guess would be that every website containing pet food in the domain name receives similar email solicitation from these ambitious Chinese companies. It just happens that another Chinese food product that is on the FDA Import Alert list, are common pet food and pet treat ingredients; vegetable proteins. As any US or Canadian pet owner knows, corn glutens, wheat glutens, and rice proteins (vegetable proteins) were laced with melamine…sold to bargain hunting US companies, and in turn included as pet food ingredients. The result of which cost the lives of countless dogs and cats across the US and Canada in 2007.
Despite the deadly recalls of 2007, vegetable protein products remain common ingredients in many dog foods, cat foods, and pet treats. The worst news, just as with honey, vegetable protein production is very low in the US, yet companies who use these products are numerous; including countless producers of pet foods and treats. Vegetable proteins are a leading export product of China; however, they remain on the FDA Import Alert list meaning every shipment of vegetable proteins ‘from China’ is held at customs until proper testing proves the products are clean of melamine.
As you’ve probably figured out, more than likely, Chinese companies are using the same methods to bypass the FDA Import Alerts by shipping vegetable proteins to another country, relabeling the products, and sending possibly melamine tainted glutens and rice proteins into the US without notice.
And now we have Professional Export Transportation companies soliciting ‘pet food’ websites, this spells nothing but trouble. Back to the email I received from Kirin Transportation Ltd., the second bullet under ‘Services’ stated: “International logistic service (packing, re-packing, labeling…)”. My guess would be that ‘International logistic service’ is a clever way of telling potential customers “We can bypass FDA Import Alerts by re-packing and re-labeling anything that would be a problem to get into the U.S.”
Two important concerns are taken from this Export Transportation solicitation email. One, if the Seattle News Service can figure out the export game through their investigation, why can’t Customs and the FDA? A news organization and a pet food educational website don’t work on a daily basis with importers and exporters, yet we’ve figured out the ‘game’. US Customs and the FDA work with these companies on a daily basis, they should be more than familiar with all the tricks of the trade; stopping them in their tracks. The Seattle Honey Laundering story even explained that shifty importers from China are sending their possibly tainted honey into non honey producing countries, re-labeling the products from that country, and then forwarding to the US. Why doesn’t the FDA realize that a huge shipment of honey from a non honey producing country is a scam?
The second concern is for pet owners; now we have another worry. A pet food manufacturer that includes Import Alert ingredients such as vegetable proteins in their pet foods and treats can report to Customers that they use NO ingredients from China, thus providing their customers with peace of mind. However, it could be a false sense of security. The reality might be the vegetable proteins included in their pet foods or treats DID originate in China; shipped into the US via a non-alert country. The worry is, regardless whether the pet food or pet treat manufacturer understands and utilizes the ‘import game’ or not, the end result could be deadly for our pets.
We know for certain that vegetable proteins are heavily utilized in a majority of top selling dog foods, cat foods, and pet treats. We know for certain that China is a top producer of these ingredients, and that the US produces only a small portion. We know for certain there are professional export companies trained in ‘International Logistic Services’. The pieces in between can only be assumed. If your pet’s food or treats contains corn gluten, wheat gluten, rice protein or similar ingredients, be very cautious.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
PetsumerReport.com
What’s in Your Pet’s Food?
Is your dog or cat eating risk ingredients? Chinese imports? Petsumer Report tells the ‘rest of the story’ on over 2500 cat foods, dog foods, and pet treats. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. www.PetsumerReport.com
Have you read Buyer Beware? Click Here
Cooking for pets made easy, Dinner PAWsible
Are you subscribed to Truth About Pet Food Newsletter? Click Here to subscribe
Follow Truth about Pet Food on Twitter
Become a Fan of Truth about Pet Food, Dinner PAWsible, Buyer Beware on Facebook
Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here
