Cyanuric acid added to the Chinese Melamine scandal

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David Barboza reporting out of Shanghai for the New York Times suggests that Cyanuric Acid in combination with Melamine may have led to the deaths of thousands of American pets.

Apparently, cyanuric acid is quite commonly used to boost the protein readings of animal feed in China:

In China, chemical producers say it is common knowledge in the chemical and agriculture industry that for years feed producers in China have quietly and secretly used cyanuric acid to cheat buyers of animal feed.

“Cyanuric acid scrap can be added to animal feed,” said Yu Luwei, general manager of the Juancheng Ouya Chemical Company in Shandong Province. “I sell it to fish meal manufacturers and fish farmers. It can also be added to feed for other animals.”

Yang Fei, who works in the sales department of the Shouguang Weidong Chemical Company in Shandong Province, echoed that view: “I’ve heard that people add cyanuric acid and melamine to animal feed to boost the protein level.”


This story is patently disturbing. Barboza tracks the suspicions of veterinarians in the United States that the combination of cyanuric acid and melamine proved deadly to American pets.

Clearly the Food and Drug Administration failed to understand the nature of this danger.

One simply question any of us might ask: why are we learning of this story only after thousands of American pets have died?

What other stories haven't we begun to hear about?

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