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DESPITE THE DRUG WITHDRAWALS, it is instructive to review what had been permitted in US poultry meat for decades, despite accumulating evidence showing increased arsenic in poultry meat. The history is an indicator of the lax oversight and sluggish response to these issues of public health. View in LinkedIn

WITHDRAWN APPROVALS. "On September 30, 2013, FDA denied a petition from the Center for Food Safety and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy that asked the agency to take steps to revoke the approvals of four arsenic-based animal drugs. The petitioners’ requests ... became moot after the sponsors of those drugs requested that FDA withdraw the approvals for those products." http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm370568.htm View in LinkedIn

FDA DRUG WITHDRAWAL. "In resolving a longstanding dispute, the Food and Drug Administration has announced that it will rescind approval for three of the four arsenic drugs that had been used in animal feeds ... The compounds — roxarsone, carbarsone and arsanilic acid ... added to feed for chickens, turkeys and pigs to prevent disease, increase feed efficiency and promote growth." http://lnkd.in/dKhrFPz View in LinkedIn

NITARSONE STILL ON US MARKET. Despite the fact that Nitarsine is chemically similar to Carbasone, which was voluntarily withdrawn, the FDA has taken no action on this arsenical poultry feed additive. The Center for Food Safety is doing the work that the government should do, namely, keeping an eye on food safety. http://lnkd.in/dpYwRMd View in LinkedIn

NITARSONE CLAIMED SAFEBY MANUFACTURERS. "Dr. Nachman said that Zoetis currently sells a similar arsenic-based drug, nitarsone, which is approved for use in chickens and turkeys. The company’s spokeswoman, Elinore White, said nitarsone was not a substitute for roxarsone, and that scientific data supported its safety." http://lnkd.in/dHt3ydp View in LinkedIn

"NITARSONE SAFETY DATA IS INADEQUATE" was the assessment of European food evaluators, citing that the studies were over 40 years old, with too few samples, and there were other methodological flaws, including no evaluation of the drug metabolism in turkeys, the intended subject. The 2004 study concluded that the safety data was insufficient for use in turkey food. http://lnkd.in/dYVUCKC View in LinkedIn

LOW LEVEL ARSENIC EXPOSURE by USEPA "quantified the lifetime exposure of arsenic in drinking water at concentrations of 0.0017 mg/L, 0.00017 mg/L, and 0.000017 mg/L are associated with a lifetime skin cancer risk of 1 in 10,000, 1 in 100,000, and 1 in 1,000,000 respectively." Parts of the US have high arsenic levels in water ... http://lnkd.in/dB3MNvy View in LinkedIn

"NITARSONE is an organoarsenic compound that is used in poultry production as a feed additive to increase weight gain, improve feed efficiency, and prevent blackhead disease. It is marketed as Histostat by Zoetis, a publicly traded subsidiary of Pfizer." This is the remaining poultry arsenical growth promotor allowed on the US market today. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitarsone View in LinkedIn

The WHO "recommends a limit of 0.01 mg/L (10ppb) of arsenic in drinking water. This recommendation was established based on the limit of detection for most laboratories testing equipment at the time of publication of the WHO water quality guidelines. More recent findings show that consumption of water with levels as low as 0.00017 mg/L (0.17ppb) over long periods of time can lead to arsenicosis." http://lnkd.in/dB3MNvy View in LinkedIn

MORE VOLUNTARY WITHDRAWALS. "In September 2013, the FDA announced that Zoetis and Fleming Laboratories would voluntarily withdraw current roxarsone, arsanilic acid, and carbarsone approvals, leaving only nitarsone approvals in place." Too little, too late. An illustrative story of our food regulation. And the story is not over yet. http://lnkd.in/d_Ee38c View in LinkedIn