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Kansas City News Today Kansas City Front Page is a weekly news publication, with daily updates, spotlighting attractions, events, business and hospitality in Kansas City. |
KANSAS CITY NEWS TODAY - Sunday, February 10, 2008 Chinese, American Business Owners Indicted for Importing Tainted Ingredient Used in Pet Food KANSAS CITY, (kansascityfrontpage.com), February 10, 2008 - Two Chinese businesses and their top executives, along with a United States company and its owners, were indicted by a federal grand jury, Febrary 6, in separate but related cases, for their roles in manufacturing and importing a tainted ingredient used to make pet food, which resulted in the death and serious illness of countless pets in the United States last year, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Wood. "In today's global economy, crimes that occur halfway around the world can seriously impact our lives," said Wood. "Millions of pet owners remember the anxiety of last year's pet food recall. These indictments are the product of an investigation that began in the wake of that recall. We take seriously our responsibility to uphold the health and safety standards that protect America's food supply. Vigorous enforcement is an essential part of that effort." Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co., LTD. (XAC), a Chinese processor of plant proteins that exports products to the United States; Mao Linzhun, age unknown, a Chinese national who is believed to currently reside in China and was the owner and manager of XAC; Suzhou Textiles, Silk, Light Industrial Products, Arts and Crafts I/E Co., LTD. (SSC), a Chinese export broker that was used by XAC to export products to the United States; and Chen Zhen Hao, 58, a Chinese national who is believed to currently reside in China and was the president of SSC; were charged in a 26-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City. ChemNutra, Inc., a company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., that buys food and food components in China and imports those items into the United States to sell to companies in the food industry, along with company owners Sally Qing Miller, 41, a Chinese national, and Stephen S. Miller, 55, who are married, were charged in a separate, but related, 27-count indictment. Sally Miller is the controlling owner and president of ChemNutra; Stephen Miller is an owner and chief executive officer of ChemNutra. The indictments allege that more than 800 metric tons of wheat gluten was exported to the United States in at least 13 separate shipments, with invoices totaling nearly $850,000, between Nov. 6, 2006, and Feb. 21, 2007. According to the indictment, those shipments of wheat gluten, which were falsely labeled in order to avoid inspection in China, were tainted with melamine, an unsafe food additive. ChemNutra and the Millers received the melamine-tainted product at a port of entry in Kansas City, Mo., the indictment says, and then sold the product to their customers, who used it to manufacture various brands of pet food. Countless pets throughout the United States suffered serious illness and death after eating the tainted pet food. Plan to End Unfair Local Property Tax Increases for Missouri Homeowners KANSAS CITY, (kansascityfrontpage.com), February 10, 2008 - Gov. Matt Blunt is calling for greater protection for Missouri taxpayers through mandatory rollbacks for all local property taxing districts and measures to bring clarity and predictability to Missouri's local property tax system. "Local property assessments and re-assessments should be fair, but all too often they have become a shadowy path to higher taxes," Gov. Blunt said week. "We can better protect, inform and serve Missourians with my plan for truth in taxation and mandatory levy rollbacks that benefit all Missourians." All Missourians pay local property taxes, whether directly or through higher rent. Missouri state law is flawed because it does not require all locally elected boards to roll back the local property taxes they impose on Missourians when the combination of higher assessments and levy rates exceed the normal rate of growth. Gov. Blunt is taking action to protect taxpayers from excessive local property tax increases that are allowed through loopholes in Missouri's current local property tax system. In Missouri and many other states, local governments impose local property tax on residential, agricultural and business owners to fund important services such as education, public safety and local infrastructure, but Missouri's local property tax system has become a complicated, confusing, and sometimes unexpectedly expensive burden. Governments should not become flush with cash through flaws in the law while many Missouri homeowners and tenants scrape by, sometimes being forced to give up their homes or businesses because of these costs. "In the Senate, we've moved a step closer to protecting Missouri taxpayers in future reassessment years from back door tax increases under the veil of reassessment," Senate Leader Mike Gibbons said. "The Senate Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved our property tax reform measure, Senate Bill 711, that will also close tax increase loopholes, require earlier notice and more information, and expand tax relief for low income seniors and the disabled." Gov. Blunt also is calling for greater clarity and predictability in Missouri's local property tax system. Currently, collectors are under no obligation to send tax bills out any earlier than 30 days before they are due. The governor supports a system in which taxpayers are made aware of how any local property tax increases will affect them through an estimated tax bill in the spring of reassessment years. The governor's plan will give Missourians more time to plan to pay their local property taxes each year, discuss rates and government needs with their local officials, and consider possible appeals of their assessment. Results of Inspections by Health Department Food Protection Program Online KANSAS CITY, (kansascityfrontpage.com), February 10, 2008 - The Kansas City, Mo., Health Department Food Protection Program is responsible for assuring the regular inspections of food service establishments within the city limits of Kansas City, Mo. Results of the inspections are now available online at www.inspectionsonline.us/foodsafety/mousakansascity/search.htm. Food Code violations are broken down into two categories: critical and non-critical. Critical violations are items that, if in noncompliance, are more likely than other violations to contribute to food contamination, illness, or an environmental health hazard. Examples of critical violations include food obtained from an unsafe source, inadequate cooking, improper holding, contaminated equipment, and poor personal hygiene. Non-critical violations cover such things as dirty floors, lack of hair restraints, and open waste receptacles. For more detailed information on critical and non-critical violations, please contact the Food Protection Program at the Health Department at (816) 513-6315. Several important things to note: The inspection report information posted here describes conditions found in food service establishments within Kansas City, Mo., at the time of the inspection. A single inspection should not be used to evaluate a food service establishment. Looking at the series of inspection results over time gives a more accurate picture of the food service establishment's commitment to food safety and sanitation. Anytime a food service establishment is found to pose an imminent hazard to the public health, it is closed. An imminent health hazard may exist because of an emergency such as a fire, flood, extended interruption of electrical or water service, sewage backup, misuse of poisonous or toxic materials, the onset of an apparent foodborne illness outbreak, a gross insanitary occurrence or condition, or other circumstance that may endanger public health. Food service inspections are a public record, and the detailed inspection records are available for examination at the Health Department offices at 2400 Troost during regular working hours.   The Kansas City Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Kansas City area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 2007 - 2008 Moore Design Group. |
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