Executive Summary

ChemNutra and its owners face federal charges related to importing wheat gluten products contaminated with melamine, FDA says Feb. 6. Las Vegas-based ChemNutra, which buys ingredients from China to sell to U.S. companies, and owners Sally Qing Miller and Stephen S. Miller were charged in a 27-count indictment. Starting in March 2007, melamine was found in wheat gluten and rice protein concentrates that were linked to the deaths of pets and led to the recall of pet food products (1"The Tan Sheet" Sept. 10, 2007, p. 5). Also charged in a separate but related, 26-count indictment are Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co., LTD., and the owner, Mao Linzhun; and Suzhou Textiles, Silk, Light Industrial Products, Arts and Crafts I/E Co., LTD., and its president, Chen Zhen Hao. Under the indictments, all defendants face charges including conspiracy to defraud customers and the introduction of a misbranded food into interstate commerce, FDA says. In a same-day statement, the Millers deny the allegations and while they acknowledge one felony count alleges they sought to defraud customers, they stress the government does not allege they "had any knowledge of the presence of melamine or any other erroneous substance"...