China begins wheat gluten inspection

BEIJING, May 4 (UPI) -- China reportedly has begun inspections for any chemical contamination in wheat gluten suspected in the pet food poisoning in the United States.

Quoting official agency reports, The New York Times Friday reported the country's main export and import inspection agency began its work Monday, testing for a chemical sometimes used in rat poison and for an industrial chemical called melamine.

The effort is seen as willingness on the part of China to work with the United States on an issue that has resulted in massive recalls of pet food.

Until the pet illnesses were traced to wheat gluten, China had denied shipping any of it to the United States, the report said. Since then, it said, China has banned the mixing of melamine into vegetable proteins for export or for domestic food use.

Chinas has detained an executive of one of two companies accused of selling contaminated wheat gluten to pet-food suppliers in the United States.