Arsenic found in chicken meat

[AlbionWood]

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Sure, we can trust the corporations to act in our best interests, no need for government oversight or regulation. Abolish the FDA and trust agribusiness and the food-products industry to keep our food and drugs safe; abolish EPA and trust corporations to keep our air, water, and land unpolluted. (NEA and DEA are horses of a different color and we might find some agreement there.) And certainly I can find plenty of fault with FDA and EPA, as with any agency or indeed any large organization; but the bottom line is that they are there to protect citizens from predation. All you have to do is look at how things were before FDA and EPA were created, and then imagine what it would be like today without them.

In this particular case it looks to me like FDA stepped in and did what USDA should have been doing all along, but would not (and will not) because that agency has been "captured" by agribusiness. The fox is guarding the chickens...

 

[al6517]

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I Take this statement to mean that since most other countries do not have as strict food and drug regulations as the U.S. That Pfizer will continue to sell this feed product in other countries. Where it will no dought still make it back into our food chain by virtue of the fact that we import everything from anywhere, shoot you can buy a childs toy made in CHINA at walmart that would hurt the kid if he licked the paint.

 

[AlbionWood]

USA is the world's leading poultry exporter; China is the largest importer. I don't think we get much chicken meat from China; Mexico is probably a bigger concern.

The EU has much stricter food & drug regulations than the US, but outside Europe you're probably right. Pfizer may be selling Roxarsone to China et al, where they don't seem to mind poisoning their land and water.

 

[al6517]

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True statement.

 

[jdopler]

well idk if I'll agree with that 100%.. look at how much of the US population is still ok with bovine growth hormone and feed lot beef, not to mention everyone poisoning their homes with pesticides and herbicides, cleaning chemicals, artificially scented air sprays...
We still have a long way to go.

 

[tlb796]

When our government and big business quit flip-flopping employees back and forth I will
come to trust our government again!!! The EPA, USDA and FDA no longer do the job they were designed to do....

 

[Dogfish]

I agree that adding arsenic to food is stupid, but we also add iodine, and many other things, such as salt, that in high enough concentrations can lead to health issues. Trace amounts of lead and other things are out there in our food. I just took the item as a chicken little reaction, hence the di-hydrogem monoxide comment.

Can You Really Drink Too Much Water?

In a word, yes. Drinking too much water can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and to a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body, hyponatremia. Water intoxication is most commonly seen in infants under six months of age and sometimes in athletes. A baby can get water intoxication as a result of drinking several bottles of water a day or from drinking infant formula that has been diluted too much. Athletes can also suffer from water intoxication. Athletes sweat heavily, losing both water and electrolytes. Water intoxication and hyponatremia result when a dehydrated person drinks too much water without the accompanying electrolytes.

What Happens During Water Intoxication?

When too much water enters the body's cells, the tissues swell with the excess fluid. Your cells maintain a specific concentration gradient, so excess water outside the cells (the serum) draws sodium from within the cells out into the serum in an attempt to re-establish the necessary concentration. As more water accumulates, the serum sodium concentration drops -- a condition known as hyponatremia. The other way cells try to regain the electrolyte balance is for water outside the cells to rush into the cells via osmosis. The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from higher to lower concentration is called osmosis. Although electrolytes are more concentrated inside the cells than outside, the water outside the cells is 'more concentrated' or 'less dilute' since it contains fewer electrolytes. Both electrolytes and water move across the cell membrane in an effort to balance concentration. Theoretically, cells could swell to the point of bursting.

From the cell's point of view, water intoxication produces the same effects as would result from drowning in fresh water. Electrolyte imbalance and tissue swelling can cause an irregular heartbeat, allow fluid to enter the lungs, and may cause fluttering eyelids. Swelling puts pressure on the brain and nerves, which can cause behaviors resembling alcohol intoxication. Swelling of brain tissues can cause seizures, coma and ultimately death unless water intake is restricted and a hypertonic saline (salt) solution is administered. If treatment is given before tissue swelling causes too much cellular damage, then a complete recovery can be expected within a few days.

So basically, both situations "could happen", but are not likely to cause harm.

 

[AlbionWood]

Dogfish, I'm still unclear on what your point is. Are you trying to say that because it's possible to hurt yourself by drinking too much water, it's okay to put arsenic in chicken feed? That doesn't make sense, but I can't figure out what else you could be saying here.

Let me try to clarify my position: The real issue/problem is the ultimate fate of the arsenic that has been fed to the chickens. FDA just discovered that, contrary to the assertions from the broiler industry and the Roxarsone manufacturers, some of the arsenic does make it into the meat. I'm not actually much concerned with that, because the levels appear to be low enough as to present little risk. (And because I no longer buy chicken meat at the store.) But the finding blows a big hole in the justification for using the stuff in the first place and has already caused the principal supplier to withdraw the product. The real issue, and the possibly serious long-term environmental harm, is the arsenic that has been distributed onto farmland in the chicken manure. I did a little research into this about a year ago and found almost no information about the concentrations or fate of arsenic in those fields; it's just something nobody has ever wanted to look into. A little calculation indicated that we are talking about potentially harmful concentrations, with potential effects on crops grown in the fields where the manure has been spread and/or contamination of surface water or - worse - groundwater. The bottom line is that arsenic does not disappear or degrade; all of the arsenic that was in the chicken feed, is in the manure. (Minus the small amount that gets into the meat, apparently.)

The arsenic-contaminated chicken feed that caused arsenic poisoning in kids eating eggs from a backyard flock should be a huge red flag that something is dreadfully wrong somewhere.

 

[chickened]

Arsenic is also in almost all drinking water in measurable levels (well water). Seattle's drinking water has it and also is pumped from wells that run through large deposits of asbestos.
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[AlbionWood]

Correction: Arsenic isn't leached from asbestos, although certain kinds of rocks (e.g. serpentine) that contain asbestos also contain some arsenic minerals (arsenopyrite). The principal geologic materials contributing arsenic to groundwater are volcanics and the sediments derived from them. In certain areas, mineralization associated with gold or other metals also contributes arsenic to shallow groundwater.

EPA lowered the allowable concentration of arsenic in drinking water a few years ago, from 50 parts per million to 10, based on evidence indicating the health risks were higher than previously estimated. This has caused a lot of anguish among water suppliers and created a boom in the water-treatment industry. Lots of areas have natural arsenic concentrations between 10 and 50 ppm in groundwater.

(Disclosure: I am a hydrogeologist... this kind of thing is bread and butter to me.)

Note that if you are already getting regular doses of arsenic from your drinking water, the "safe" concentration in your food (including chicken meat) will be lower than if your water is arsenic-free. It's your total daily intake that matters.