sam wainford on sun 20 jul 97
I found the following article on another list I belong to. To
summerize: clay from Kentucky-Tennessee Ball Clay Co contained dioxins
and somehow got into chicken feed, and into chickens. Hmmm. Not good.
Sam
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Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 09:11:51 -0700
From: Kathleen Lanfried
Subject: FYI - Dioxin in chicken etc.
FYI
Kat in CA
03:16 PM ET 07/17/97
Townsend says Arkansas poultry passed dioxin tests
CHICAGO (Reuter) - Chicken produced at Townsend Inc.'s
Arkansas plant has tested safe for human consumption after
concerns surfaced that the meat was tainted by dioxin, a
powerful carcinogen, a company official said Thursday.
Concerns about dioxin-tainted poultry feed also prompted
Tyson Foods Inc., the nation's biggest poultry producer, and
ConAgra Inc. to suspend operations this week at Arkansas poultry
plants.
``We were below the (dioxin) limits USDA set,'' said Chuck
Dix, director of quality assurance for privately held Townsend.
Townsend halted operations at its Batesville, Ark., poultry
plant Monday and Tuesday following a government directive last
week concerning dioxin-tainted livestock feed that affected
certain Southern poultry and catfish operations.
Clay used in the soymeal feed produced at two Arkansas feed
plants was found to have unacceptable dioxin levels.
Dioxin is a potent carcinogen once used as a herbicide but
banned years ago. But soil samples continue to register its
presence, as in the clay used in the soymeal feed produced at
two Arkansas feed plants.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety and
Inspection Service last week ordered poultry, egg, meat and fish
producers handling animals exposed to the feed to make sure
dioxin levels were below the federal allowable level of 1 part
per trillion before product sales.
Dix said Townsend processes 700,000 chickens a week at the
Batesville plant. Production resumed Wednesday and a Saturday
schedule was added to partially make up for the two-day
shutdown, he said.
U.S. catfish producers exposed to the targeted feeds also
began testing for dioxin this week.
The U.S. Agriculture Department said the contaminated feed
was traced to plants operated by Riceland Foods Inc. and Quincy
Soybean Co., both in Arkansas, and represents less than 1
percent of the national production of such feeds.
The clay originated from Kentucky-Tennessee Ball Clay
Company of Crenshaw, Miss., the USDA said.
^REUTER@
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