June 30, 2009

Most consumers in the US are unaware that the chicken they eat is laced with an arsenic compound known as roxarsone, according to the Washington Post.

 

In the US, most major poultry producers add roxarsone to their chicken feed, the Washington Post said.

 

The paper said even the ice water or coffee consumers drink may also be contaminated with arsenic, and if they live on or near a farm, the air they breathe may have arsenic dust as well.

 

Inorganic arsenic is a Class A carcinogen that has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and declines in brain function, the paper said.

 

The poultry industry has been using the feed additive roxarsone to fight parasites and boost chicken growth since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in 1944. The arsenic additive promotes the growth of blood vessels in chicken, which does little else but gives the meat an attractive pink. The additive also fuels a growth process known as angiogenesis in human cells, a critical first step in many human diseases such as cancer.

 

The arsenic additive also presents health risks to farmers, as chicken growers have reported illness from contact with roxarsone while preparing feed. Most small growers rely on contracts with large chicken producers that mandate the use of arsenic in chicken feed, so the farmers are often unable to avoid the health risks involved.

 

In 1999, the EU banned the use of inorganic arsenic in chicken feed. Several US chicken producers, including Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms, have also responded by discontinuing the use of the substance. However, as recently as 2006, 70 percent of the more than nine billion broiler chickens produced annually in the US were fed roxarsone, the Washington Post said.