In a news report published by the Associated Press, the FDA has eventually acknowledged that chicken meat has inorganic arsenic, a highly toxic poison that has been proven to be associated with cancer. If our body receives this compound in high amounts, it could even kill us.
Arsenic has long been used in chicken meat available in supermarkets. The FDA has reported that 50% of the chicken it tested contained inorganic arsenic in their liver. Inorganic arsenic has the highest level of toxicity among cancer-causing chemicals.
So the next time you buy chicken from supermarkets, you should be careful!
A related research work published by The Journal of the American Medical Association found that people consuming high amounts of rice with arsenic suffered cell changes, leading to cancer.
When arsenic is taken in the form of food, it can cause the following diseases:
– Bowen disease (also referred to as squamous cell carcinoma)
– Basal cell carcinoma (skin)
– Invasive squamous cell carcinoma
– Cancers of organs like kidneys, liver, lungs, bladder
The Department of Environmental Health Services at the University of South Carolina reports that arsenic is even more toxic than mercury and lead and affects kids and fetus by an even higher degree.
It has been found to be four-times more poisonous than mercury. The As+3 Arsenic is 60-times more toxic than its pentavalent, represented by As+5.
The biggest concern is from where the arsenic originates which is added to the chicken. In other words, the poisonous compound is deliberately added to our chicken food.
The IATP released a report, Playing Chicken, in 2006. It stated in the report that over 70% of the chicken are given arsenic in their feed to promote faster growth. This eliminates the need for giving more food to the chicken. This also gives chicken, hog and turkey meat a healthier and appealing color.
After this was found, the authorities forced Pfizer to stop producing Roxarsone. This was a drug produced by the company, which contained toxic arsenic. This was being given to chicken in their feed so that their meat appeared fatter and pink.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published recently about another finding by the FDA and how Pfizer was allowed to delay pulling the drug.
According to this WSJ report, the FDA performed a study of over a hundred broiler chickens which were found to have high levels of inorganic arsenic in their livers. They had been treated using 3-Nitro. The chickens that were not treated with this drug were not found to have the arsenic in their livers.
Pfizer responded to the findings by saying that it will stop the sale of the drug by early July so that the chicken producers could find alternative treatment.
Without concern that this drug is currently in the recall-phase around the United States, the FDA continues to maintain that chicken has safe levels of arsenic in it. They also say that it is safe to consume chicken.
It is evident that the chicken producing industry wants to keep any news of arsenic and its harmful effects on our health under the rug. And the agency is turning its head the other way!
Source: Good Morning Center