What about the arsenic? Do you think that consumers should not be told about this? Is it some big secret what goes on? Why -- are you so afraid of the Arsenic story? You should be proud of what damage you have done to cosumers and the enviroment!
Lisa Bishop-Spencer
· 6 months ago
Thanks for your comments. We understand that consumers are concerned about any type of residues in their food. We share this responsibility with our partners in industry and in government.
Most people don't know is that arsenic is naturally occurring and that it is an approved animal feed supplement. Chicken feeds are mostly prepared in specialized feed mills. They come under the jurisdiction of the Canada Feeds Act and are subject to government inspections. There is no advantage to the miller or to the farmer not to produce or use a quality feed. Before it is put on the market chicken meat is checked for quality, absence of disease and residues.
In Canada, trace amounts of arsenic, an approved animal feed supplement, may occasionally, but are not always, be included in some chicken feed to control intestinal parasites. After all, healthy birds are the only birds that can enter the food stream. If such supplements are used, they are usually only provided in the first part of a chicken's growth cycle.
In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency monitors for residue levels in poultry meat across Canada. No violations involving arsenic have been found.
From the site: Health Canada assesses any findings of elevated levels of arsenic in food on a case-by-case basis using the most current science available. When levels of arsenic deemed unsafe are found in food, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency take appropriate actions such as public recalls, product detention, and the establishment of maximum limits (standards).
Health Canada continues to conduct regular surveillance of chemicals such as arsenic in food. Health Canada also collaborates with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the food industry to ensure that any foods containing arsenic at levels hazardous to human health do not reach the consumer. Additionally, Health Canada continues to evaluate the human health risks associated with exposure to contaminants from food as new data and information become available.
Karen Simmons
· 6 months ago
The compendium of medicating ingredients available through CFIA has approved the use of arsenic in chicken feed for meat birds and for layers. Through our research we have found that a great deal of the chicken being raised for restaurant chains, long-term care homes, hospitals, etc is raised using these approved feed additives. While it is not an antibiotic, (it is a poisonous heavy metal) it is used as an anti-parasitical, a growth promoter, and as a means to give the raw meat a "healthy appearance". While you sing the praises of using minimal amounts of antibiotics, exclusive of ionophores, you do not disclose to the consumers that arsenic is used. Could this be a case of planned "dumbing of Canadians" to the point where we don't have the brains left to protest?
ivan mcilroy
· 6 months ago
Swine Flu: Influenza A (H1N1) Susceptibility Linked To Common Levels Of Arsenic Exposure
What We Do Know Can Hurt Us -- "The ability to mount an immune response to influenza A (H1N1) infection is significantly compromised by a low level of arsenic exposure." This statement was made WRT when a "normal person or mouse is infected with the flu". I would suggest that this is equally true when a pig, chicken or turkey is infected with the flu. You and I know that Millions of pounds of arsenic is fed to poultry and pigs at the CAFOs of the world (and someone asks - Why is the pigs and chickens immune system compromised to the point that these viruses are allowed to overwhelm it and mutate???) This Arsenic ends up in the meat you and I eat, the animal byproducts and poultry manure the livestock is forced to eat, as well as in the manure spread on farmers fields to fertilize crops which are in turn consumed by humans and animals (here, you must be starting to see the circle). You see, ALL the immune systems of humans and animals are "compromised" by this NEEDLESS and RECKLESS addition of Arsenic into the animals diet. When will "those mandated to look out for our safety", our "regulators" have the courage to admit their mistakes of the past and Ban the feeding of Arsenic to poultry and pigs.
The quoted sections above were copied from a widely published article in the ScienceDaily (May 21, 2009). I have spent many hour researching this and have found nothing to rebut the findings presented in this article. What I have found, to my absolute horror is a total lack of connection between arsenic in Food and the findings of this report despite the amount of research "out there" indicating that a significant amount of arsenic comes from the food humans consume. Why is this not being researched and discussed in the Scientific community? Could it be Ignorance -- I think NOT, not with the info available today! At the risk of being called a "Conspiratist" my gut feel is that a "Conspiracy" is exactly what it is.
ivan mcilroy
· 6 months ago
From ScienceDaily (May 21, 2009)
Arsenic exposure not only disrupts the innate immune system, as the present study shows, it also disrupts the endocrine (hormonal) system in an unusually broad way, which Hamilton's laboratory discovered and first reported in 1998.
"Most chemicals that disrupt hormone pathways target just one, such as the estrogen pathway," he says. "But arsenic disrupts the pathways of all five steroid hormone receptors (estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, glucocorticoids, and mineralocorticoids), as well as several other hormone pathways. You can imagine that just this one effect could play a role in cancer, diabetes, heart disease, reproductive and developmental disorders–all the diseases that have a strong hormonal component."
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic can cause bladder, lung, skin, kidney, and colon cancer, as well as deleterious immunological, neurological, and endocrine effects. Low-level exposures can lead to partial paralysis and diabetes. "None of this was known in the 1950s when arsenicals were first approved for use in poultry," says Ellen K. Silbergeld, a toxicologist at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Three different pathways exist by which roxarsone in chicken feed can contribute to human arsenic exposure. Roxarsone, or its breakdown products, ends up in chicken meat and adds to the dietary intake of arsenic; roxarsone excreted in chicken litter contaminates land and groundwater after the manure is spread on cropland; and the large amounts of poultry litter made into fertilizer pellets for home gardens and lawns contaminate homegrown produce with arsenic and expose the consumer to arsenic dust.
Last year, a team led by James A. Field of the department of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of Arizona reported that under anaerobic conditions, roxarsone is converted to inorganic arsenic within eight months after poultry litter is spread on fields (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 2951). "Roxarsone is not very toxic," Field says, "but in anaerobic environments, it is transformed into highly toxic forms."
In January, Partha Basu, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Duquesne University and colleagues reported that microorganisms of the genus Clostridium in chicken litter rapidly transform roxarsone into inorganic arsenate under anaerobic conditions (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2007, 41, 818). "We see As(V) created in less than 10 days," Basu says, noting it "can be readily leached into groundwater."
Chicken manure introduces huge quantities of arsenic to agricultural fields. According to Donald L. Sparks, professor of marine studies at the University of Delaware, poultry litter is spread on land at the rate of 9 to 20 metric tons per hectare. Each year, he estimates, 20 to 50 metric tons of roxarsone in chicken litter is applied to fields on the Delmarva Peninsula, a region that includes parts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
A group led by Johns Hopkins' Silbergeld analyzed arsenic in tap water on the Delmarva Peninsula. It found higher levels of arsenic in areas where chicken litter is spread on fields and lower levels in areas where chicken manure is not spread. The research was reported at the Society of Toxicology meeting in late March.
One reason for the increasing concern about roxarsone is that the weight of evidence for arsenic as a carcinogen is much greater now than it was a decade ago. In 2001, EPA proposed reducing the maximum contaminant levels for arsenic in drinking water from 50 ppb to 10 ppb and required water systems to comply by January 2006. The agency took this action in response to three National Research Council reports that concluded the standard of 50 ppb posed unreasonable risks. And even the new lower maximum appears problematic. According to EPA estimates, the risk of cancer from 10 ppb of arsenic in tap water is 1 in 2,000, a 50-fold higher risk than that allowed for most other carcinogens.
All Comments
Most people don't know is that arsenic is naturally occurring and that it is an approved animal feed supplement. Chicken feeds are mostly prepared in specialized feed mills. They come under the jurisdiction of the Canada Feeds Act and are subject to government inspections. There is no advantage to the miller or to the farmer not to produce or use a quality feed. Before it is put on the market chicken meat is checked for quality, absence of disease and residues.
In Canada, trace amounts of arsenic, an approved animal feed supplement, may occasionally, but are not always, be included in some chicken feed to control intestinal parasites. After all, healthy birds are the only birds that can enter the food stream. If such supplements are used, they are usually only provided in the first part of a chicken's growth cycle.
In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency monitors for residue levels in poultry meat across Canada. No violations involving arsenic have been found.
More information can be found on the Health Canada website here:
From the site: Health Canada assesses any findings of elevated levels of arsenic in food on a case-by-case basis using the most current science available. When levels of arsenic deemed unsafe are found in food, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency take appropriate actions such as public recalls, product detention, and the establishment of maximum limits (standards).
Health Canada continues to conduct regular surveillance of chemicals such as arsenic in food. Health Canada also collaborates with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the food industry to ensure that any foods containing arsenic at levels hazardous to human health do not reach the consumer. Additionally, Health Canada continues to evaluate the human health risks associated with exposure to contaminants from food as new data and information become available.
What We Do Know Can Hurt Us -- "The ability to mount an immune response to influenza A (H1N1) infection is significantly compromised by a low level of arsenic exposure." This statement was made WRT when a "normal person or mouse is infected with the flu". I would suggest that this is equally true when a pig, chicken or turkey is infected with the flu. You and I know that Millions of pounds of arsenic is fed to poultry and pigs at the CAFOs of the world (and someone asks - Why is the pigs and chickens immune system compromised to the point that these viruses are allowed to overwhelm it and mutate???) This Arsenic ends up in the meat you and I eat, the animal byproducts and poultry manure the livestock is forced to eat, as well as in the manure spread on farmers fields to fertilize crops which are in turn consumed by humans and animals (here, you must be starting to see the circle). You see, ALL the immune systems of humans and animals are "compromised" by this NEEDLESS and RECKLESS addition of Arsenic into the animals diet. When will "those mandated to look out for our safety", our "regulators" have the courage to admit their mistakes of the past and Ban the feeding of Arsenic to poultry and pigs.
The quoted sections above were copied from a widely published article in the ScienceDaily (May 21, 2009). I have spent many hour researching this and have found nothing to rebut the findings presented in this article. What I have found, to my absolute horror is a total lack of connection between arsenic in Food and the findings of this report despite the amount of research "out there" indicating that a significant amount of arsenic comes from the food humans consume. Why is this not being researched and discussed in the Scientific community? Could it be Ignorance -- I think NOT, not with the info available today! At the risk of being called a "Conspiratist" my gut feel is that a "Conspiracy" is exactly what it is.
Arsenic exposure not only disrupts the innate immune system, as the present study shows, it also disrupts the endocrine (hormonal) system in an unusually broad way, which Hamilton's laboratory discovered and first reported in 1998.
"Most chemicals that disrupt hormone pathways target just one, such as the estrogen pathway," he says. "But arsenic disrupts the pathways of all five steroid hormone receptors (estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, glucocorticoids, and mineralocorticoids), as well as several other hormone pathways. You can imagine that just this one effect could play a role in cancer, diabetes, heart disease, reproductive and developmental disorders–all the diseases that have a strong hormonal component."
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic can cause bladder, lung, skin, kidney, and colon cancer, as well as deleterious immunological, neurological, and endocrine effects. Low-level exposures can lead to partial paralysis and diabetes. "None of this was known in the 1950s when arsenicals were first approved for use in poultry," says Ellen K. Silbergeld, a toxicologist at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Three different pathways exist by which roxarsone in chicken feed can contribute to human arsenic exposure. Roxarsone, or its breakdown products, ends up in chicken meat and adds to the dietary intake of arsenic; roxarsone excreted in chicken litter contaminates land and groundwater after the manure is spread on cropland; and the large amounts of poultry litter made into fertilizer pellets for home gardens and lawns contaminate homegrown produce with arsenic and expose the consumer to arsenic dust.
Last year, a team led by James A. Field of the department of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of Arizona reported that under anaerobic conditions, roxarsone is converted to inorganic arsenic within eight months after poultry litter is spread on fields (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 2951). "Roxarsone is not very toxic," Field says, "but in anaerobic environments, it is transformed into highly toxic forms."
In January, Partha Basu, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Duquesne University and colleagues reported that microorganisms of the genus Clostridium in chicken litter rapidly transform roxarsone into inorganic arsenate under anaerobic conditions (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2007, 41, 818). "We see As(V) created in less than 10 days," Basu says, noting it "can be readily leached into groundwater."
Chicken manure introduces huge quantities of arsenic to agricultural fields. According to Donald L. Sparks, professor of marine studies at the University of Delaware, poultry litter is spread on land at the rate of 9 to 20 metric tons per hectare. Each year, he estimates, 20 to 50 metric tons of roxarsone in chicken litter is applied to fields on the Delmarva Peninsula, a region that includes parts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
A group led by Johns Hopkins' Silbergeld analyzed arsenic in tap water on the Delmarva Peninsula. It found higher levels of arsenic in areas where chicken litter is spread on fields and lower levels in areas where chicken manure is not spread. The research was reported at the Society of Toxicology meeting in late March.
One reason for the increasing concern about roxarsone is that the weight of evidence for arsenic as a carcinogen is much greater now than it was a decade ago. In 2001, EPA proposed reducing the maximum contaminant levels for arsenic in drinking water from 50 ppb to 10 ppb and required water systems to comply by January 2006. The agency took this action in response to three National Research Council reports that concluded the standard of 50 ppb posed unreasonable risks. And even the new lower maximum appears problematic. According to EPA estimates, the risk of cancer from 10 ppb of arsenic in tap water is 1 in 2,000, a 50-fold higher risk than that allowed for most other carcinogens.