May 4, 10:59 PM EDT

*20 Million Chickens Held Because of Contaminated Feed*

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal officials on Friday placed a hold on 20
million chickens raised for market in several states because their feed
was mixed with pet food containing an industrial chemical.

Three government agencies - the Agriculture Department, the Food and
Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency - are
overseeing a risk assessment to determine whether the chickens would
pose a threat to human health if eaten, USDA spokesman Keith Williams
said. The assessment may be completed as early as Monday.

The 20 million chickens represent a tiny fraction of the 9 billion
chickens raised each year in the United States. Meat from the birds
can't go into commercial use without the USDA's inspection seal, which
is being withheld until the risk assessment is completed, Williams said.

Which states have chicken producers affected by the hold will be
announced later, Williams said. State agriculture officials as well as
chicken manufacturers were being contacted as the agencies determine the
extent of the problem, he said, adding that many farms in several states
probably were involved.

Investigators found last week that about 5 percent of feed used at some
smaller chicken production operations came from pet food tainted with
the chemical melamine, Williams said. Larger manufacturers, because they
usually use special feed for the chickens they raise or contract for
raising, are unlikely to have exposed their animals to large amounts of
the tainted pet products, he said.

As of Friday, no melamine had been detected in the feed used by larger
manufacturers, Williams said. However, because investigators know some
of the tainted pet food was used in that feed, officials still placed a
hold on the birds, he said.

"Absent the risk assessment in this particular situation, USDA will not
put the seal of inspection on this meat," he said.

Since March 16, more than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled
because they were contaminated with melamine. An unknown number of dogs
and cats have been sickened or died after eating pet food tainted with
the chemical.

The Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said
Thursday that no evidence indicated any harm to humans from chicken or
pork that had entered the market after having eaten
melamine-contaminated feed.

Federal investigators have been trying to determine how much of the
tainted pet food had been used in feed for hogs and chickens. Hog farms
in at least six states may have received tainted pet food for use in
feed. Those animals also have been barred from market.

The USDA and FDA said this week that chicken feed in some farms in
Indiana contained byproducts from pet food manufactured with
contaminated wheat gluten imported from China.

At the time, the agencies estimated that 30 broiler poultry farms and
eight breeder poultry farms in Indiana had received contaminated feed in
early February. More farms probably received contaminated feed, the
agencies said.

Williams said Friday that the risk assessment for chickens that had
eaten feed with melamine would involve four aspects:

-The absence of melamine in feed used by large commercial producers.

-The dilution of the pet food with larger amounts of other ingredients
in the feed.

-The healthy state of chickens that ate the feed.

-The lack of evidence of harm to humans by trace amounts of melamine
because of the varied human diet and other factors.

Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn., the chairwoman of the House
Appropriations' agriculture subcommittee and co-chairwoman of the
Congressional Food Safety Caucus, said the link between the tainted pet
food and chicken feed "highlights the egregious holes in our food safety
system."

"It is time to grant the FDA and other food safety agencies clear
mandatory recall and inspection authority," she said in a statement.
"These initial steps would help create a modern, comprehensive food
safety agency that will be capable of protecting our food supply and
restoring consumer confidence."

Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said he
agrees that the chickens should be held while risk to humans is assessed.

"This news proves how quickly a food safety concern can grow - it
warrants great care and further proves why we need an audit of the
nation's food safety system," Harkin, D-Iowa, said in a statement.