Is the arsenic scare in Sri Lanka real or a conspiracy?
Agrarian services minister S.M. Chandrasena has gone on record saying rumors are being spread about arsenic in fertilizer to discourage people from consuming rice.
The controversy was fueled by Professor Nalin de Silva, Head of Kelaniya University Science Faculty, who has called on the government to ban the import of fertilizer and pesticides that cause kidney diseases and instead promote alternatives.
He was quoted by local media as saying there was arsenic in all plants, the soil and water in the Rajarata area, where many are reported to be suffering from a mysterious kidney ailment. According to Prof. de Silva more than 50 samples of pesticides had tested positive for arsenic.
Minister Chandrasena is accusing the scientists of working for multinationals to promote sales of wheat flour and says there was no truth in the claim that Cadmium, Aluminum and Florid were the prime cause of kidney diseases in the North Central Province.
Meanwhile, in the US, the Food and Drug Administration is saying that some chicken meat may contain small amounts of arsenic, though the agency is stressing that the amount is too tiny to be dangerous to people who eat it.
The FDA said earlier this month that a new study developed by the agency shows that an ingredient in chicken feed that contains arsenic, called Roxarsone, may make its way into parts of the bird that are eaten. Previous studies have indicated that the arsenic was eliminated with chicken waste.
Pfizer Inc., which makes the feed ingredient, said it will pull it off the market in the United States but said nothing about overseas sales.
Technically, the company making the Roxarsone chicken feed is a subsidiary of Pfizer, called Alpharma LLC. Even though Alpharma now has agreed to pull this toxic feed chemical off the shelves in the United States, it says it won’t necessarily remove it from feed products in other countries unless it is forced by regulators to do so. As reported by AP:
“Scott Brown of Pfizer Animal Health’s Veterinary Medicine Research and Development division said the company also sells the ingredient in about a dozen other countries. He said Pfizer is reaching out to regulatory authorities in those countries and will decide whether to sell it on an individual basis.”
Related Stories:
FDA: Some chicken may have small amount of arsenic
Kenya Returns Fertilizer to USA - 'high levels of poisonous substances'
Agrarian services minister S.M. Chandrasena has gone on record saying rumors are being spread about arsenic in fertilizer to discourage people from consuming rice.
The controversy was fueled by Professor Nalin de Silva, Head of Kelaniya University Science Faculty, who has called on the government to ban the import of fertilizer and pesticides that cause kidney diseases and instead promote alternatives.
He was quoted by local media as saying there was arsenic in all plants, the soil and water in the Rajarata area, where many are reported to be suffering from a mysterious kidney ailment. According to Prof. de Silva more than 50 samples of pesticides had tested positive for arsenic.
Minister Chandrasena is accusing the scientists of working for multinationals to promote sales of wheat flour and says there was no truth in the claim that Cadmium, Aluminum and Florid were the prime cause of kidney diseases in the North Central Province.
Meanwhile, in the US, the Food and Drug Administration is saying that some chicken meat may contain small amounts of arsenic, though the agency is stressing that the amount is too tiny to be dangerous to people who eat it.
The FDA said earlier this month that a new study developed by the agency shows that an ingredient in chicken feed that contains arsenic, called Roxarsone, may make its way into parts of the bird that are eaten. Previous studies have indicated that the arsenic was eliminated with chicken waste.
Pfizer Inc., which makes the feed ingredient, said it will pull it off the market in the United States but said nothing about overseas sales.
Technically, the company making the Roxarsone chicken feed is a subsidiary of Pfizer, called Alpharma LLC. Even though Alpharma now has agreed to pull this toxic feed chemical off the shelves in the United States, it says it won’t necessarily remove it from feed products in other countries unless it is forced by regulators to do so. As reported by AP:
“Scott Brown of Pfizer Animal Health’s Veterinary Medicine Research and Development division said the company also sells the ingredient in about a dozen other countries. He said Pfizer is reaching out to regulatory authorities in those countries and will decide whether to sell it on an individual basis.”
Related Stories:
FDA: Some chicken may have small amount of arsenic
Kenya Returns Fertilizer to USA - 'high levels of poisonous substances'