Document Vj238Dj792ND4ekRMgjkN0p5o

Iwr. April U, I*7* #1. T'>uib Clriw-BflMfnt JO Thousands of chickens killed <. i after tainted feed is found WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands ot chickens have been destroyed end many more may be because for the last year a Ralston Purina Co. subsidiary has been distributing contaminated fish meal which was fed to the chickens, the Food and Drue Administration said Wednes day. ' The feed was contaminated by po lychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) during a farehouse fire in Puerto Rico a year ago, said Nancy Giick, a spokesman for the FDA. But the FDA teamed of it only recently. SHE SAID THE contaminated fish meal may have been mixed In swine or dther animal feeds in addition to poultry lead, and the FDA does not yet know if any pet food is involved. Most of the contaminated teed ap pears to have been shipped to Texas, although at least some nas turned up in Idaho and Arkansas, she said. "We don't know how many chickens 4r eggs were sold before it was disco vered," she said. "We know several hundred thousand chickens containing excessive PCB levels have had to be destroyed, and eggs from contaminated laying hens are being destroyed daily." KBS ARE HIGHLY stable cbemlcals that were used extensively for many years in insulators and other electrial equipment. As a result of their heavy industrial use, they have become persistent environmental contaminants that get into the food chain and turn up in the fat tissues of many animals, espe cially fish. had found excessive KB contamination in the fat tissue of its chickens. BY TRACING THE various ingredi ents of the poultry feed given to the chickens, FDA investigators were able - to pinpoint the source of the contamina tion. They said that during the warehouse fire In April 1977, two electrical trans formers exploded, spraying 2,000 pounds of coolant made with KBs over 400 tons of tuna meal stored in bags in the ware house. The FDA said the meal was manufac tured by the Van Camp Division of Na tional Packing Co., a subsidiary of the St. Louis-based Ralston Purina. * (A spokesman for Ralston Putina told The Globe-Democrat that the fish meal in question "has all been destroyed or withdrawn from the market. None of the fish meal was used in Purina chow animal feeds." (The spokesman satd that as soon as the company became aware of the KB contamination in early February, "it voluntarily notified FDA and USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and began procedures lo locate and dispose of the affected fish meal. ("Corrective measures were Immedi ately taken jto alleviate any potential problems and all affected customers have been contacted." < Consumption of large doses by hu- hfians can cause acne-like skin, erup tions, darkening of the skin and nails, excessive discharge from the eyes and ^welling of the eyelids, the FDA spokes- i said. But such symptoms should rbe experienced by people who haw Consumed the contaminants in the quan tities found in poultry and eggs so far, hhesaid . i The FDA says It is impossible to lminate KBs from all foods because Sey occur throughout the environment, hut it has set maximum tolerance levels jit various points In the food chain. ! FINISHED ANIMAL feed may not contain more than 0.2 parts per million hf the contaminant, while animal feed (components may contain up to 2 parts per million. , FDA Investigators said analysis of some of the feed showed levels up to 42 `parts per million, more than 30 times the Ipermlssible level. ; FDA investigators ywmad from a poultry company in Texas Jan. 'O that.lt MQNS 001079