T97-29 Lawrence Bachorik: (301) 827-6242
July 7, 1997
Consumer Hotline: (800) 532-4440
FDA STOPS DISTRIBUTION OF SOME EGGS AND CATFISH
BECAUSE OF DIOXIN-CONTAMINATED ANIMAL FEED
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today is telling
commercial catfish and egg producers not to ship human food
products produced from or by animals who may have eaten animal
feed contaminated with dioxin. These producers of human food
will be able to resume shipping potentially affected products if
they can demonstrate through testing that the human food contains
only background levels of dioxin.
Today's action does not affect products already in
commercial distribution or in consumers' homes.
This action is designed to stop the flow into commerce of
catfish and eggs that might contain elevated (one part per
trillion or higher) levels of dioxin. Federal health officials
continue to emphasize that the levels of dioxin found so far in
eggs and catfish present no immediate public health hazard.
FDA is taking this step as a prudent public health measure
to reduce human exposure to an avoidable contaminant. The agency
emphasizes that consumers should not hesitate to consume eggs and
catfish they have at home or purchase on the retail market.
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service is taking a
similar action with respect to poultry products, and the two
agencies are working together to identify appropriate analytical
methods and laboratories to test food samples for dioxin.
Dioxins are found throughout the environment at low levels
and are known to accumulate in the food chain. Continued high
exposure to dioxin can cause increased risk of cancer and other
health effects. Because dioxins accumulate, it is important to
eliminate avoidable exposure to these substances.
Recent analytical results obtained by the Federal government
have shown that when food-producing animals are fed animal feed
contaminated with dioxin, the result can be human food with
levels of dioxin that are greater than background levels.
Last week, FDA announced that it had told manufacturers of
some animal feeds known to be contaminated with dioxin to stop
the further distribution and use of this feed. An investigation
by EPA, USDA, FDA and state officials disclosed that the source
of dioxin in the animal feed was "ball clay," which is commonly
added to soybean meal as a "flowing" or anti-caking agent. The
ball clay was traced to a single clay mine in Mississippi, which
at the request of the FDA has stopped shipping clay for feed use.
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, incineration, chlorine bleaching of pulp
and paper and other industrial processes.
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This is a mirror of the page at HTTP://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/NEW00574.html
Letter (July 8, 1997) to Egg Producers and Catfish Farmers and Processors on Dioxin Contaminated Animal Feed (Updated List, July 16, 1997)
Note (July 11, 1997) Change in Dioxin Sampling and Testing Program for Catfish
Talk Paper (July 16, 1997) Revised Sampling and Testing Program for Catfish
Talk Paper (July 25, 1997) Catfish Cleared for Processing and Shipping