Two Chinese nationals and the businesses they operate, along with a U.S. company and its president and chief executive officer, were indicted in February by a federal grand jury for their roles in importing melamine-contaminated wheat gluten used to make pet food into the United States, according to the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.

Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. Ltd., a Chinese firm that processes and exports plant proteins; Mao Linzhun, owner and manager of Xuzhou Anying Biologic; Suzhou Textiles, Silk, Light Industrial Products, Arts and Crafts I/E Co. Ltd., a Chinese export broker; and Chen Zhen Hao, president of Suzhou Textiles were charged in a 26-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.

ChemNutra Inc. (Las Vegas), a corporation that buys food and food components from China to sell to U.S. food companies, along with ChemNutra owners Sally Qing Miller and her husband, Stephen S. Miller, were charged in a separate but related 27-count indictment.

The indictments allege that more than 800 metric tons of wheat gluten were exported to the United States in at least 13 separate shipments between Nov. 6, 2006, and Feb. 21, 2007, with invoices totaling nearly $850,000; that the shipments were tainted with melamine, an unsafe food additive; and that the shipments were falsely labeled to avoid inspection in China. Furthermore, ChemNutra received the melamine-tainted product at a port of entry in Kansas City, Mo., and sold the product to their customers, who used it to manufacture various brands of pet food.

According to the indictments, ChemNutra contracted with Suzhou Textiles to purchase food-grade wheat gluten. Suzhou Textiles then entered into a separate contract with Xuzhou Anying Biologic to supply the wheat gluten it needed to fulfill its contract with ChemNutra. The indictments allege that the wheat gluten was incorrectly labeled to show it contained a minimum protein level of 75 percent.

Under certain conditions, melamine mixed with wheat gluten can make the product appear to have a higher protein level than it actually has. Melamine has no approved use as an ingredient in human or animal food in the United States.

“In today’s global economy, crimes that occur halfway around the world can seriously impact our lives,” said U.S. Attorney John F. Wood. “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. We take seriously our responsibility to uphold the health and safety standards that protect America’s food supply. Vigorous enforcement is an essential part of that effort.”

Pet food manufacturers recalled more than 150 brands of dog and cat food across the nation last year, following reports of cats and dogs suffering kidney failure after eating melamine-tainted foods.

On March 15, 2007, Menu Foods Inc. (Streetsville, Ontario), a pet food maker that supplies cat and dog food to numerous companies that in turn sell it under various brand names, alerted FDA to 14 animal deaths in the United States. FDA received more than 14,000 consumer complaints within the month—more than twice the number of complaints typically received in a year for all of the products the agency regulates. In the following months, consumers and veterinarians reported many more illnesses and deaths associated with a wide variety of pet foods.

There is no coordinated national tracking system to monitor pet deaths. However, consumer reports received by the FDA suggest that approximately 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs died after eating contaminated pet food. [April 2008 PET AGE]