What's the deal with Roxarsone in chicken feed?

[NHchicks]

I just read a news article about Roxarsone (which is some kind of arsenic) in chicken feed, and the article stated that some children tested high for arsenic which was traced back to their family's chicken flock. The chickens ate the feed which had Roxarsone, the children ate the chickens' eggs, and voila, the children now had high levels of arsenic in their systems.

This is the first I've heard of this issue, and I do have to say I'm concerned. I buy Blue Seal feed, and I don't even know if it has Roxarsone in it, but I'm thinking maybe it's worth it to make your own feed then?

Has anyone heard of this issue before? Is it worth worrying about? And what can be done to buy food without these additives?

Ugh. I thought this was such an unpolluted food source...

EDIT: I'm going to move this over to the "feeding and watering" section. I didn't even see that section till just now. Maybe an admin will delete or close this one.

 

[Moabite]

I have been using Purina. I asked them if they use roxarsone in any of their chicken feeds. I will share the results with BYC.

 

[Moabite]

From what I've read, roxarsone is an organic form of arsenic used to prevent certain parasites and increases the size of meat birds. It also gives the meat a pink color to help it look nicer under plastic wrapped cartons. The down side, from what I read, is that studies show about 60% of the organic arsenic is converted by bacteria and enzymes in to inorganic arsenic. Most of which, gases off of the fertilizer left behind. We are talking about parts per billion to begin with but I'd rather not have metals added to my feed, especially arsenic or lead, vanadium, uranium, aluminum, etc. I realize that certain amounts exist naturally but then that would not be a problem.
http://books.google.com/books?id=VQ...rsone?&source=bl&ots=wTM9TEfjg-&sig=zcjK7dZGh

 

[ranchhand]

Please provide a link to the source of your information, or at the very least, name the source so we can all see it.

 

[Moabite]

Put that link in.. Thanks.

Love to hear some other's thoughts

 

[NHchicks]

Here's the link I originally got concerned from. The article is from July, but someone just sent it to me, so it's new to me.

http://www.grist.org/article/food-arsenic-found-in-utah-kids-urine-traced-to-their-pet-chickens-fe/

 

[BlackBart]

I read that awhile ago.
I think there is all sorts of stuff put in the food chain we don't know anything about.

I was reading that the Canadian Feed companies are putting a enzyme in chicken food because it helps the chickens metabolism digest the grains fully. Without it, a chicken doesn't absorb the full amount of the grains nutrition.
It's in Canadian poultry feed anyway.

http://www.idrc.ca/gk3/ev-30924-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Folks we have been over this before.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5049389#p5049389