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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Farming and food industries voice concerns about EPA proposal to limit dioxins in animal feed

Many in the farming and food industries are raising concern about an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to limit human consumption of dioxins, a chemical that has been found in meat, seafood and dairy products and is known to cause cancer, Philip Brasher reports for the Des Moines Register. Industry groups argue EPA's proposed daily exposure limit for dioxin isn't justified and may scare consumers away from their products.

In a letter to the White House, the American Farm Bureau Federation and groups representing feed companies, meat processors and dairy manufacturers accused EPA of creating a situation "in which most U.S. agricultural products could arbitrarily be classified as unfit for consumption." EPA's proposed standard would not implement any new regulations for farmers or the food industry, but it could lead to future recommendations restricting content for livestock feed and reducing "the amount of dioxins that people could consume," Brasher reports. The National Fisheries Institute and the International Dairy Foods Association have asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Food and Drug Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to get involved.

EPA said its proposal is a result of an extensive review process that "incorporated significant new scientific findings." Some EPA officials have said industry groups are overreacting to the proposed standard, but Steve Kopperud of the American Feed Industry Association told Brasher the industry is "concerned about the overreaction of the consumer" and fears the measure could lead to "a ban on animal byproducts in livestock feed." (Read more)

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