Posted October 4, 2013
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it
will rescind approval for three arsenic containing drugs used in animal feeds,
according to the New York Times, available here.
The “compounds – roxarsone, carbarsone, and arsanilic
acid – have been used in 101 drugs added to feed for chickens, turkeys and pigs
to prevent disease, increase feed efficiency and promote growth, according to
the Center for Food Safety.”
The FDA action is in response to a 2009 petition by the
Center for Food Safety (CFS) “on behalf of a coalition of US food and environmental
groups” according to an article by Global Meat News, available here.
The FDA turned down the petition to ban a fourth
arsenic containing drug, nitrasone, “stating that it was in the process of
completing scientific studies in order to more fully evaluate any food safety
concerns.”
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
said the FDA action was a “major victory” for consumers. Ben Lilliston, vice-president for program at
IATP said, “The FDA’s response is long overdue to reduce exposure to arsenic
and should launch a more comprehensive evaluation of health risks associated
with animal feed produced by the pharmaceutical industry.”
The National Chicken Council noted that arsenic has not
been used in US broiler chicken production since 2011, “when the manufacturers
of the drugs – Zoetis and Fleming Labs – withdrew them voluntarily from the market.” Ashley Peterson, NCC vice-president of
scientific and regulatory affairs said, “The only arsenical used as a feed
additive in broiler production in the last 10 years, roxarsone, was suspended
in 2011 and the product is no longer manufactured or used. No other feed additives containing arsenic
are currently used in broiler meat production in the US.”
For more information on food safety issues, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center's website here.
