Warnings Raise Fears About Cheap Imported Food

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2007 — -- Twenty million chickens were ordered off the market on Friday, at least temporarily, while U.S. inspectors check to see if the animals were fed an industrial chemical.

It is only the latest in a long string of food alerts.

Alabama and Mississippi have banned the sale of some Chinese catfish after tests showed the presence of the illegal antibiotics ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin in their flesh. And thousands of pet owners say their cats and dogs died after eating tainted pet food, although the official number of pet deaths is still less than 20.

Much of what we eat comes from overseas. Food imports have skyrocketed and inspections are not keeping up. Less than one percent of food coming into the United States is inspected.

Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Lester Spell told ABC News Americans have a right to be worried.

"The food safety system that we have is absolutely not working," he said.

Catfish farmers, who have been undercut by the imports are angry.

"If they had found the same substances in our catfish that they found in the imported catfish, I'm sure that F.D.A. or whatever regulatory agency would have shut us down immediately," said Bill Battle, a catfish farmer.

In the past six months, from China alone, inspectors turned back apple chips with an unsafe color additive, fresh ginger with pesticide, and dried mushrooms listed as filthy.

And China wasn't even the biggest offender. From India, inspectors refused hundreds of items, including spinach with pesticide, ground spice with salmonella and crushed chilies with pesticides.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. wants an overhaul of the food safety system. Last week, he gave the Chinese ambassador an earful.

"They have been reluctant to let our inspectors see their production facilities," said Durbin. "That is unacceptable. If we are going to do trade with them and expand our trade, they have to play by our rules."