Reid backs plans for pet food hearing

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Friday endorsed plans for a Senate hearing into the recalls of tainted pet food that has killed a number of cats and dogs across the country.

"There are some questions about how this situation was handled and we need some answers," Reid said. "Was there a delay in reporting the problem, and if so, why?"

"For many, pets are like members of the family and we should do what we can to protect them," he said.

Reid's comments, conveyed in an e-mail, came on the heels of an announcement that the Senate will hold a hearing on the contaminated pet food.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said Thursday at a news conference in Illinois that the Senate will take stock of the Food and Drug Administration's investigation of the scare.

The hearing will be held shortly after senators return from Easter recess next week, Durbin said. No set date was announced, nor word on who might be called as witnesses.

Durbin, the Senate majority whip, has called for standardized federal regulations and inspections to replace state inspections now in place.

"I support Senator Durbin's call for hearings so we can have a better understanding of the situation and determine what can be done to prevent tragic cases like these in the future," Reid said.

The FDA confirmed Thursday that it had traced tainted wheat gluten, a pet food ingredient used to add protein, to shipments imported from China by ChemNutra Inc., a supplier in Las Vegas.

The wheat gluten contained melamine, an industrial chemical used in the production of plastics.

The FDA last week halted wheat gluten imports from the eastern Chinese city of Xuzhou, and ChemNutra has recalled all of the wheat gluten it sent to customers.

The FDA has confirmed about 15 pet deaths resulting from tainted food, but anecdotal reports suggest the death count could be in the hundreds or low thousands.