SHANGHAI: The top quality control agency rejected a United States claim yesterday that contaminated pet food ingredients came from China.

A release from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said China has never exported pet food ingredients made of wheat or wheat bran to the United States or Canada and that the country has nothing to do with the pet food poisoning incidents.

No exact number of pet deaths has been given but some reports put the number at hundreds, if not thousands. The chemical aminopterin was found in the food.

Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co Ltd, in East China's Jiangsu Province, was named in a notice by the US Food and Drug Administration as the source of the contaminated wheat gluten.

Mao Lijun, the general manager of Xuzhou Anying, told China Daily yesterday that the company has sent its products to a local quality control agency in Jiangsu Province for testing yesterday morning.

"The results of the tests were supposed to be announced this week and I won't give any comment on the incident before that," he said.

But Mao insisted that his company did not export any wheat gluten directly to the United States or Canada.

"We sold it to another Jiangsu company, who probably exported it," he said.

Mao refused to release the name of the other company, though he was quoted by Associated Press as naming the company as Suzhou Textile Import and Export Co.

A woman surnamed Jiang in the administrative office of the Suzhou company claimed that her company did not export food ingredient.

The aminopterin, an antineoplastic chemical discovered in the tainted pet food, has never been registered in any agricultural department in the country for use as pesticide or rat poison, said the administration. Therefore, any wheat or wheat products produced, processed or stored in the country has no chance to be contaminated, according to the administration.

Officials from the administration also said they are in contact with the United States Embassy in China to follow the ongoing pet food investigation and will probably take certain measures if necessary.

The FDA started an investigation late last month when deaths of cats and dogs were reported. The deaths were linked to wheat gluten connected to three major pet food manufactories: Menu Foods, Nestle Purina PetCare Co and Hill's Pet Nutrition.

They used an American supplier who allegedly bought the products from China. The producers held a massive recall of the pet food that triggered kidney failure in dogs and cats.

(China Daily 04/04/2007 page3)