Suspect Additive Commonly Used in China

Pigs rest in mud near flooded fields in Pingyang county, east China's Zhejiang province in this July 20, 2005 file photo. The mildly toxic chemical melamine is commonly added to animal feed in China, a manager of a feed company and one of the chemical's producers said Monday, April 30, 2007, a process that boosts the feed's sales value but risks introducing the chemical into meat eaten by humans. (AP Photo/File) (AP)

The contaminated gluten was traced to a trading company based in eastern Jiangsu province, Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co., and a firm in the nearby province of Shandong, Binzhou Futian Bio-technology Co. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has blocked wheat and rice gluten from both companies pending an investigation.

China's government said last week it would allow FDA investigators to visit.

Xuzhou Anying managers have said they have no idea how the melamine got into the gluten, which they claim was acquired from other firms and sold to a third company which exported it to the United States.

However, suspicions were raised when the company was found to have posted an online advertisement in March seeking to buy melamine.

Ji Denghui, manager of Sanming Dinghui Chemical Trading Co. in the eastern province of Fujian, said animal food companies are some of his best customers.

"A lot of animal food companies buy melamine from us to add in the animal feed," Ji said. "This can lower the production cost and increase nitrogen levels."

Ji played down the risk, saying that despite China's repeated food safety scares, the companies could be trusted to use melamine safely.

"I believe it won't do any harm if there is only very small amount," Ji said. "Otherwise, those companies could not do that."

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AP Writer Sarah DiLorenzo contributed to this report from New York.