NEW YORK, April 25 (UPI) -- Imported ingredients for human food will be inspected for contamination as part of the U.S. Food and Drug administration's probe into tainted pet food.
The agency announced in New York Tuesday it will also expand testing for livestock food after pigs in California, North and South Carolina were quarantined and a poultry farm in Missouri was under investigation, CNN reported Wednesday.
Traces of melamine, used in making plastic, has been found in wheat and corn gluten, cornmeal, rice bran and rice protein imported from a single source in China, and at least 15 cats and a dog have died from melamine-related kidney failure in North America.
David Acheson, chief medical officer for the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition said the expansion of the testing was only a "proactive step," and that it would begin at the end of the week.
In light of numerous recalls of scores of pet foods, the FDA suggested pet owners discuss diet alternatives for their pets with their veterinarians.
