Posted August 9, 2010

Two Utah Children’s High Arsenic Levels Traced to Contaminated Poultry Feed

A new case of elevated arsenic levels in two children that has been traced to contaminated poultry feed should result in immediate action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw approvals for arsenic-containing compounds used in animal feed.

In May, the Utah Department of Health sent a “Letter Health Consultation” to other state Departments of Health about a case of high arsenic levels detected in the urine of two children. The Utah DOH traced that case to poultry feed purchased at a local feed store for the family’s backyard chicken. The children typically ate approximately 8 to 10 eggs per week. The feed was not labeled as containing roxarsone (a form of arsenic). The feed company claimed it did not add arsenic compounds to the feed. But tests by the state health agency found that the feed did contain arsenic, as well as the eggs produced by the family’s hens. Once the feed was changed, levels of arsenic in the eggs and children declined significantly.

This is the first time that high arsenic levels in humans has been directly traced to contamination in animal feed. Arsenic can be poisonous, and children are particularly vulnerable. This case should bring a new sense of urgency for immediate action by the FDA.

Arsenic-compounds are typically not used in feed for egg-laying hens, but approximately 70 percent of broiler chicken raised in the U.S. are fed a diet containing roxarsone. Arsenic additives are commonly used in poultry production to induce faster weight gain and create the appearance of healthy color in meat from chickens, turkeys and hogs. In the U.S., arsenic-containing compounds have been approved additives to animal feed since the 1940s. The European Union has never approved arsenicals for animal feed.

Read the Utah Department of Health Report

Other resources: Playing Chicken: Avoiding Arsenic in Your Meat

~ David Wallinga, M.D.