Meat Industry INSIGHTS Newsletter

970722 FDA Halts Manufacture of Animal Feed with Dioxin

July 3, 1997 -- According to a FDA, the Food and Drug Administration told manufacturers of animal feeds known to be contaminated with dioxin to stop the further distribution and use of this feed, which the manufacturers have been voluntarily holding at the request of the FDA. This is a precautionary measure by FDA aimed at reducing the potential human exposure to dioxin.

In a recent national survey of 80 poultry samples conducted by FDA, USDA and the EPA, 2 samples were found to have elevated levels of dioxin. An investigation traced the source of the dioxin to "ball clay" which is commonly added to soybean meal as a "flowing" or anti-caking agent. The soybean meal is then added to some animal feeds. The ball clay was traced to a single mine in Mississippi, which at the request of FDA has ceased mining and shipping the clay.

The term "dioxin" refers to a class of environmentally persistent chemical compounds that are inadvertently created through a number of activities, including certain types of chemical manufacturing, combustion, chlorine bleaching of pulp and paper and other industrial processes.

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