Japan has stepped up inspection of Chinese-made animal feed and pet food that may be laced with a chemical that has caused a global food scare with tainted milk, agriculture officials said Monday.
The farm ministry Monday ordered farm cooperatives and other industrial groups to tighten inspection of feed and pet food from China to ensure they don't contain melamine, the chemical that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children, ministry official Satoshi Motomura said.
He said the ministry issued the order after Beijing last week said several Chinese feed makers allegedly mixed melamine into their products used for dairy cows.
Animals fed with melamine-laced feed could develop kidney stones.