Why are pet food makers trying to treat headaches?

This tainted pet food scandal becomes more bizarre at every turn. Besides melamine in the food, testers have been finding other odd chemicals in pet food including acetaminophen, the ingredient used for headaches. Not so surprisingly, the FDA seems surprised and is vowing to look into the matter. Oh, they must be shaking in their boots.

At least five dog and cat food samples submitted by worried pet owners and pet food manufacturers contained varying levels of the pain reliever, she said. Only the food, not individual ingredients, were tested.

The medication was found most often with cyanuric acid, a chemical used in pool chlorination, Coneley said. Varying levels of melamine, a chemical used to make plastics, also were found among the hundreds of samples ExperTox tested, she said.

The contaminants were found in foods that are not among the more than 150 brands recalled since March 16, Coneley said. The highest level of acetaminophen was found in a dog food sample submitted by a manufacturer, she said. Coneley declined to identify the company but said its officials were given the results "well over a month ago."

That company should have -- but did not -- notify the FDA, which first learned of the acetaminophen findings after pet owners posted lab reports on the Internet, Arbesfeld said.

The pet food producers are not showing a lot of fear of the consequences for failing to report to the FDA. That says what it says and explains part of the problem, which is that the FDA has become a weakened organization that has no teeth and will fail to take action. Is it asking too much to equip the FDA with more staff and impose much more serious consequences for violations like this? Considering the end result can be death for consumers, this hardly seems out of order. (H/T to Cat.)