US state bans arsenic in chicken feed after food analysis

Detailed food analysis of chicken feed has led to a US state banning all feed that contains arsenic, a move which has already been implemented in Canada and in the European Union.

Maryland is the first American state to make the move, after the Food and Drug Administration carried out tests on chickens finding that half the birds that were fed the feed that contained the additive roxarsone later showed trace amounts of inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen, in their livers.

The Washington Post reported the results, which also found that unknown quantities of arsenic could have seeped into the ground as a result of chicken waste that had been converted into fertiliser.

Human effects caused by arsenic are generally in relation to women, with studies showing that arsenic consumption can lead to premature births and low-birth weights. Small amounts can also cause nausea, vomiting, decreased production of red and white blood cells, abnormal heart rhythm, damage to blood vessels, and a “pins and needles” sensation on the hands and feet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Shannon Kauffman, food chemistry lab manager at EMSL Analytical said: “Testing food and drinks for arsenic levels can be complicated by the fact that arsenic has different forms, and some of those forms are more dangerous than others.”

Posted by Fiona Griffiths