More tainted fish from China

This time it's melamine in catfish:

Tests conducted at a US Food & Drug Administration laboratory on behalf of the Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services have detected melamine in at least one sample of imported Chinese catfish. And while officials are downplaying the health hazard, this latest finding suggests that the human food supply is much more widely contaminated than previously acknowledged.

Coming from China, what doesn't have melamine in it?

Update: Looks like it might have been found by accident:

Phillips said U.S. health officials have been working for some time to keep antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, out of the food supply to reduce the chances of bacteria adapting to become resistant to the drugs.

One sample of catfish, however, did show a positive test for melamine. The level of material, however, does not pose any human health hazards, according to DHHS.

Melamine is a chemical used in fertilizers in Asia and has recently been detected in wheat gluten used in the making of some pet foods distributed in the United States.

U.S. inspectors said the tainted gluten used in pet food caused the deaths of an unknown number of dogs and cats, sparking the recall of 154 brands of pet food contaminated with the chemical.

Melamine has no nutritional value, but it is high in nitrogen. Adding it to feed makes it appear to be higher in protein, bringing a better price for the makers of feed for stock animals such as pigs, chickens and fish as well as companies that make food for household pets.

Ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin are in the fluoroquinolones family of antibiotics, which have never been approved for use in agriculture in the U.S., although they are vital in fighting serious human illness.

Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have banned the sale of Chinese catfish and Vietnam basa catfish because of concern over antibiotic use. Some officials have said the amount of antibiotic in the fish is too small to cause adverse effects, but many health experts fear their widespread use could lead to the evolution of fluoroquinolone-resistant pathogens and the transfer of those pathogens from animals to humans.

Most U.S. farm-raised catfish is produced in the Southeastern states.

The Health Division sampled catfish taken from several Arkansas wholesale distributors on May 7, 8, 9 and 14. The distributors included Mariner’s Seafood; Chinese catfish, CenSea Chinese catfish, Ocean Park Chinese catfish, Silver Source Chinese catfish, Empire Choice Chinese tilapia fillets, Heartland U.S. catfish and Freshwater Farms U.S. catfish.