Arsenic found in US chickens

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer recently said it will voluntarily suspend US sales of a poultry-pumping additive after studies showed it can leave traces of arsenic in chicken livers, the US government said.

The Food and Drug Administration said 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. 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 US, though US regulators said they would share their findings with international governments.

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

Some poultry farmers use 3-Nitro to ward off coccidiosis, a parasitic disease that attacks an animal’s intestines. It also helps chickens gain weight and gives a golden colour to their skin.