Testing has confirmed that meat from hogs fed rations supplemented with pet food scraps containing melamine and related compounds is safe for human consumption.
That development led the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to release swine held on farms and to approve the meat from those animals for processing.
Testing of meat from hogs exposed to the contaminated feed confirms that melamine and melamine compounds do not accumulate in pork and are filtered out of the body by the kidneys.
About 56,000 hogs that consumed the feed had been voluntarily held on farms in California, Illinois, Kansas, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Utah.
USDA is expected to provide compensation to producers for certain additional costs incurred as a result of holding the animals.
There was a lot to be positive about in the pork industry the last week of October. I realize it is difficult to be optimistic when you are still losing $25 to $30/head. I also realize that positive news at this point could be as dangerous as it is welcome. But facts are facts, and we must recognize them.
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As I begin this week's column, I"m reminded of two different "flip side" statements that may help characterize the topic at hand. The first is the old Archie Campbell schtick - "That's good - no that’s bad," which I have used before. The second reflects President Truman's frustration with economists' incessant use of the qualifier - "on the other hand" - to introduce the contrary opinion on a given topic. President Truman once demanded in his usual colorful language: "Will someone please find me a *!&%$*?>
