CNN Anderson Cooper 360-Transcript

Interview

CNN Anderson Cooper 360-Transcript

COOPER: I think you be sure there will be tough questions in tomorrow's Senate hearing. Senator Dick Durbin will be asking some of them. I spoke to him earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Senator, a third company's now recalled pet foods made with this imported Chinese ingredient. You say China is not cooperating with the FDA or efforts to try to inspect their facilities. Why not? What is their problem?

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: I wish we knew the answer. We've written the Chinese ambassador and said why won't you give them a visa to the FDA inspectors so they can go over and take a look at this plant in China? And they haven't done it. For weeks they've refused these visas.

COOPER: You've said that the contamination may have actually been intentional not accidental. Why would anyone intentionally contaminate the pet food supply?

DURBIN: The value of this food product is based on the protein content. Protein is measured chemically by the presence of nitrogen. This chemical melamine, which has no place in a human or pet food product, is inserted into the product to show more nitrogen and make it a more valuable shipment. It could be economic fraud.

COOPER: What's the next move with China?

DURBIN: Well, clearly, they have to give us visas at some point. If they refuse to cooperate with the United States, we can't compromise the health and safety of the people that live here and the pets that they love.

COOPER: What does this mean for even the human food supply? Because there's a lot of humans -- I mean, food that we eat that comes from China or ingredients that come from China.

DURBIN: Well, unfortunately, we're now seeing that some of these food products are making it into livestock, in this case, into hogs that have been slaughtered and now being recalled. So we know that it's getting way too close to the human food chain.

COOPER: You held a special hearing on the recall last week. How do you think the FDA has handled this situation so far? Because I'm getting e-mails every day from people who seem to have no confidence in the FDA.

DURBIN: Well, I can tell you that it's understandable, because the FDA has very limited powers and very limited resources facing an almost unlimited challenge with global imports.

You take a look at what's happened here. They've had over 12,000 complaints about pet food. In a given year, they have 5,000 complaints about everything that they regulate. So this is a big issue. People really care about it.

COOPER: It does seem that there was all along a lot of people saying, "Oh, look. Now it's taken care of. Now it's done." And then we find out a couple of days or a couple of weeks later, you know what? In fact, it's not over, but more pets are dying. There's more of this stuff showing up on shelves. Should people out there have confidence that -- do we have a handle on this at this point?

DURBIN: Now, we don't. As a matter of fact, it turns out the FDA is the weakest link in a very weak chain. We have 12 to 15 different federal agencies responsible for food safety, 30 different laws, 40 to 50 different committees on Capitol Hill.

We have buildings filled with lobbyist down on K Street here in Washington, D.C., who are fighting for no change. This system is awful. It has to change, if the people are going to have confidence in the food that they're buying for themselves and the pets they love.

COOPER: That's a long-term change. Short term what do you tell people who are, you know, looking for food for their pets on the shelves?

DURBIN: Check the FDA web site. They've listed all of the products that have been recalled. That's a starting point. And I think most owners are looking at it.

But we've got to keep vigilant. And we've got to keep on top of this. The investigation is not complete by any means. COOPER: Senator Durbin, appreciate your time. Thanks.

DURBIN: Thank you.

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