Arsenic in US chicken hits Pfizer

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will voluntarily suspend US sales of a poultry-pumping additive, which is also sold in several other countries including the Philippines, after studies showed that it can leave traces of arsenic in chicken livers, the US government said on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that the move followed a study of 100 broiler chickens, which found that those treated with the animal drug 3-Nitro, or Roxarsone, had higher levels of inorganic arsenic in their livers than untreated chickens.

The levels detected were “very low” and do not pose a health risk, the FDA said.

The drug is marketed by Alpharma, a subsidiary of Pfizer, and has been used since the 1940s to ward off infection, make chicken skins more yellow and boost the birds’ growth.

“FDA detected increased levels of inorganic arsenic in the livers of chickens treated with 3-Nitro, raising concerns of a very low but completely avoidable exposure to a carcinogen,” said Michael Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods.

“We are pleased to announce that the company is cooperating with us to protect the public health,” he added.

The order will take effect in 30 days.

The FDA approved 3-Nitro in 1944, when it became the first arsenic-containing new animal drug product approved by the US regulatory agency.

It is fed mainly to chickens but is also used for swine and turkeys.

Most of its sales are in the United States, though US regulators said that they would share their findings with international governments.

A Pfizer spokesman said that 3-Nitro is marketed for use in both poultry and swine not only in the Philippines, but also in Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The drug is approved for poultry only in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Australia, Pakistan and Jordan.

Arsenic-based food additives are banned in Europe, according to an industry newsletter published by the Netherlands-based Worldpoultry.net.

Perdue, a major chicken producer in the United States, said that it has not used Roxarsone in several years and saw no decline in flocks’ health.

“We phased out the use of this animal health feed additive in April 2007 as we improved our flock health and management programs,” spokesman Joe Forsthoffer said in an email to Agence France-Presse.

“We’ve found that, through improved flock health programs and housing environments, we are able to produce healthy chickens without it,” he added. –AFP