ARSENIC in pet food???!!!

The FDA believed that most of the arsenic would be excreted in poultry droppings.  That sounded good in the 40s - if you discount the arsenic remaining in the flesh which is then eaten by humans and their pets.   But it isn’t just in poultry.  FDA considers processed feathers and poultry barn waste (including feces) an acceptable source of protein for cattle feed, even though it has been shown to contain arsenic ingested by the poultry.

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The process for making chicken meal which concentrates deadly fluoride {1} also concentrates arsenic when it is present in the chicken.  We assume that the FDA gave little or no thought to pet foods made from poisoned chickens and so far, infertility or health problems have not been traced to pet food containing chickens laced with arsenic.  As an aside, did you know there are also arsenic compounds in heartworm medication?

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cinderflower said:

without reading the articles, i'd guess trace amounts.  kind of like the 66 deady gases released by smoking cigarettes (cyanide, carbon monoxide, etc.)  i'm not saying it's healthy by any means, just something that would take years to accumulate to a recognizably fatal dose.

the FDA and whatever other governing agencies have been hideously lax for decades about cattle and poultry feed, so that doesn't surprise me a bit.  arsenic probably isn't the worst thing to be concerned about though.

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08/17/2011
Chicken, Now Available with Less Poison

By Michael Crupain, MD, MPH

(Note: This Article was originally published in the American College of Preventive Medicine Resident Physician Newsletter)

Many people would probably be surprised to find out that arsenic, the metalloid element sometimes referred to as “the king of poisons”, has been a common additive to chicken feed for over 60 years. Organic arsenic is the active component in Roxarsone, a drug that is fed to birds in order to speed growth, kill parasites, and improve the cosmetic appearance of their meat. It is estimated that about 2 million pounds of Roxarsone are fed to conventionally raised chickens each year and according to one industry representative 88% of all chickens receive the drug.

As of July 8, 2011, however, Pfizer the maker of Roxarsone, has voluntarily suspended sales of the drug. This moves comes on the heels of an FDA study in which increased levels of inorganic arsenic were detected in the livers of chickens fed Roxarsone.

While chickens are fed Roxarsone, an organic form of arsenic, recent studies have suggested that the arsenic can be converted to the toxic inorganic form, by bacteria present inside a chicken’s gastrointestinal tract and in chicken manure.

Inorganic arsenic is classified as carcinogenic to humans, and chronic, low level exposures are associated with medical complications including damage to cells and chromosomes, which can lead to skin, bladder, liver, and lung cancers as well as conditions such as heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, anemia, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral neuropathy. New data also suggests that arsenic may be an endocrine disruptor.

The United States Food and Drug Administration originally approved Roxarsone for use in animals in 1944. The FDA risk assessments on the safety of arsenic containing drugs was done over half-a-century ago with data supplied by the industry about residue levels in meat and the estimated average per-capita chicken consumption at that time. Since then, however, the amount of chicken consumed in the United States has increased dramatically. While in 1960’s the average American ate approximately 28lbs of chicken per year, by the year 2010 the average annual per capita consumption had tripled to almost 90lbs. This means that consumers are likely being exposed to significantly higher levels of arsenic than would have been considered during the original studies assessment conducted by FDA. Industry trade groups have repeatedly asserted that studies that have examined arsenic residues in chicken have found the levels to be less than the permissible tolerances set by the FDA. Despite this, these tolerances were set in the 1950s, without the benefit of the public health research community’s current understanding of arsenic’s carcinogenic effects and potential to induce other adverse health outcomes. In addition, chicken waste containing arsenic can contaminate the water that people drink as well as the meat of other food animals and potting soil mixtures.

Surprisingly, arsenic-containing feeds have been shown not to be cost effective to industry. In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Poultry Research, investigators found that chickens fed a diet without arsenic or other growth promoting antimicrobials were statistically indistinguishable from chickens that were fed arsenic and other antimicrobials (the researchers actually saw a trend for increased production indices in the chickens not fed the drugs). Under pressure from public health advocates, both Foster Farms and Perdue, two of the countries biggest chicken producers, have both claimed to stop using arsenic containing drugs in their chicken feeds and these drugs have never been approved for use in the EU and should not used in organically grown chickens.

It is noteworthy that while sales of Roxarsone have been voluntarily suspended by its domestic manufacturer, the FDA has not withdrawn its approval of the drug. According to the New York Times, Pfizer plans to do full scientific assessment of the drug before it tries to return it to the market.

”While a voluntary cessation of sale of arsenical drugs may sound like a step in the right direction, FDA should do its job and withdraw the approval for Roxarsone,” says Dr. Keeve Nachman of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. “Allowing Pfizer to self-police sets a bad precedent with regard to how FDA handles legitimate public health concerns associated with drugs used in food animal production.”

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Unfortunately, one of the few places the poultry industry has chosen to concentrate itself is on the Delmarva Peninsula, a tri-state (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) land spit that juts out into the Chesapeake Bay, historically one of the nation’s most productive fisheries and now nearly an ecological wasteland. Some 1,700 chicken operations produce 11 million chickens per week on this relatively small spit of land. As Nachman and Lawrence point out, the Delmarva poultry industry generates a $hit-ton (my word, not theirs) of manure: between 12 million to 39 million tons every year. How much inorganic arsenic makes it into Delmarva groundwater from that fecal onslaught? Food and Water Watch speaks:

Researchers estimate that between 11 and 12 metric tons of arsenic are applied to agricultural land there every year via poultry waste. Groundwater tests on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay’s Coastal Plains found arsenic in some household wells reaching up to 13 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) tolerance limit.

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Then there’s the question of arsenic traces in industrial chicken meat. In 2006, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) tested chicken samples from supermarkets and fast-food joints — and found that 55 percent contained detectable arsenic. Citing the EPA, IATP reckons that 55 percent of arsenic found in poultry meat is inorganic, i.e., toxic. And here’s another way arsenic from poultry feed gets into the food supply: the jaw-dropping, mind-boggling practice of feeding chicken **** to cows. But that’s a topic for another post — one, in fact, that I’ve already written.

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Arsenic in Animal Food

This is one of those ridiculous but true stories. Arsenic, the deadly poison and known carcinogen, is an allowed ingredient in some animal feed.

The Alliance for Natural Health reports that last December (2010), the Center for Food Safety and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy filed a petition with the FDA asking for the  removal of arsenic-containing compounds used in animal feeds. "Most arsenic -containing animal feed additives are not used to treat sickness. Instead, these additives are commonly used in poultry production the induce faster weight gain and give the meat a healthy-looking color; the same techniques are used to a lesser extent in turkeys and hogs."

In 2006, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy published a startling paper titled, "Playing Chicken, Avoiding Arsenic In Your Meat." While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) claims that none or very little of the arsenic put into chicken feed makes its way into the meat, this organization tested raw chicken purchased from supermarkets and fried chicken purchased from fast food chains. They found that most uncooked chicken products (55%) contained "detectable arsenic" and many fast food chickens "carried some detectable arsenic" as well. (This is a very fascinating and well-written report.)

There is no available information of arsenic levels in chicken meat used in pet foods. Because many pets eat chicken-based food and eat that food every day of their lives (unlike humans who might only consume chicken two or three times a week), this is a huge concern for pet owners. If a pet food does or does not contain arsenic depends on the chicken producer the pet food company purchases from. My guess would be few, if any, pet food companies test for arsenic levels in their chicken or chicken meal. However, again considering that many pets eat chicken-based pet food day in and day out for years, this should be a consideration for all concientious pet food companies. So if you pet food companies are listening out there, please test for arsenic levels and provide those test results on your website.

For pet owners who feed raw or home-cooked food with chicken to your pets, the above Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy paper lists the raw chicken companies they tested and levels of arsenic found.

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As - Arsenic

 

Pet Food Average 95 ppb

Pet Food Max 290 ppb

Human Tuna - 14 ppb

Human Sardines - 30 ppb

Human Chicken - 4.4 ppb

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Trouble is, arsenic shifts from organic to inorganic rather easily. Indeed, “arsenic in poultry manure is rapidly converted into an inorganic form that is highly water soluble and capable of moving into surface and ground water,” write Keeve E. Nachman and Robert S. Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

Inorganic arsenic is the highly poisonous stuff — see the absurd and wonderful Cary Grant classic Arsenic and Old Lace, or the EPA’s less whimsical take here and here [PDF]. The fact that the organic arsenic added to feed turns inorganic when it makes its way into manure is chilling, given the mountains of concentrated waste generated by factory poultry farms.

....Then there’s the question of arsenic traces in industrial chicken meat. In 2006, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) tested chicken samples from supermarkets and fast-food joints — and found that 55 percent contained detectable arsenic. Citing the EPA, IATP reckons that 55 percent of arsenic found in poultry meat is inorganic, i.e., toxic. [/quote]

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LDG said:

It'll make you glad you haven't been eating meat...
 

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