South Carolina Lawyer Blog
The State newspaper reported on Thursday, April 26, 2007 that federal and state officials are investigating reports that hogs were given feed that has been contaminated with the chemical melamine.
52 hogs at one small processing plant have been quarantined and another 800 hogs at a farm where contaminated food might have been given to the animals have been identified according to the state veterinarian’s office. The office declined to identify the location of the processing plant or the hog farm.
While traces of melamine were found in hog urine at the farm, the feed tested negative for contamination. State veterinarian Tony Caver stated “no one has determined the significance of finding any detectable levels of melamine in healthy hogs.”
The hog feed came from Diamond Pet Foods, Inc. which received contaminated material from China, according to Clemson University.
State officials in North Carolina said Wednesday that melamine has been found in all the hogs tested at a farm in the western part of the state. The farm has been quarantined.