Clinical Pharmacist and Master’s student in Clinical Pharmacy with research interests in pharmacovigilance, behavioral interventions in mental health, and AI applications in clinical decision support. Experience includes digital health research with Bloomsbury Health (London) and pharmacovigilance practice in patient support programs. Published work covers drug awareness among healthcare providers, postpartum depression management, and patient safety reporting. 
Clinical Pharmacist and Master’s student in Clinical Pharmacy with research interests in pharmacovigilance, behavioral interventions in mental health, and AI applications in clinical decision support. Experience includes digital health research with Bloomsbury Health (London) and pharmacovigilance practice in patient support programs. Published work covers drug awareness among healthcare providers, postpartum depression management, and patient safety reporting. What was studied?
This study measured inorganic arsenic in chicken meat and related arsenic species in retail chicken, focusing on whether arsenic-based poultry drugs (especially roxarsone) were associated with higher toxic arsenic residues. The researchers distinguished between arsenic forms rather than reporting only total arsenic, then compared results across production labels (conventional, antibiotic-free, USDA Organic) and across samples where roxarsone residues were detected versus not detected. Because inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen, the work directly connects feed-drug practices to consumer-relevant contamination outcomes, making it highly actionable for a Heavy Metal Tested and Certified (HMTC) framework that needs to tie measurable residues to controllable upstream inputs.
Who was studied?
The “who” in this work was the U.S. retail chicken supply chain as encountered by consumers. Researchers purchased conventional, antibiotic-free, and USDA Organic chicken from 10 U.S. metropolitan areas over December 2010 to June 2011, a period when roxarsone was still broadly available for use in poultry feed. The comparative structure mattered: USDA Organic served as an internal benchmark because arsenicals (including roxarsone) are prohibited under that label, while other categories could plausibly include birds raised with arsenical drugs. This sampling strategy supports certification-relevant questions: how contamination differs by production claim, and whether label class meaningfully predicts lower inorganic arsenic in chicken meat.
Most important findings
Across retail samples, inorganic arsenic in chicken meat was strongly linked to detectable roxarsone residues, providing practical evidence that drug use can translate into higher consumer exposure. The study also flagged cooking as a risk-modifier, because heat reduced roxarsone while increasing inorganic arsenic—an especially important nuance for HMTC protocols that must define testing matrices and preparation conditions.
| Critical point | Details |
|---|---|
| Species-specific arsenic measurement | The study is described as the first to quantify specific arsenic forms in retail chicken and to compare concentrations by whether birds were raised with arsenical drugs, strengthening causal interpretability for certification claims. |
| Roxarsone detection linked to higher inorganic arsenic | When roxarsone was detected in meat, inorganic arsenic levels were reported as four times higher than in USDA Organic chicken (where arsenicals are prohibited), supporting an input-based prevention approach for certification. |
| Sampling across labels and cities | Conventional, antibiotic-free, and USDA Organic chickens were purchased from 10 U.S. metro areas (Dec 2010–Jun 2011), enabling label-based risk differentiation that HMTC could use for risk scoring and targeted audits. |
| Levels exceeded an FDA-suggested reference point | FDA was noted as having no established safety standard for inorganic arsenic in foods, though it briefly suggested levels should be well below 1 µg/kg; meat with roxarsone detected had inorganic arsenic 2–3× greater than that level. |
| Cooking changed arsenic chemistry | A key operational finding was that when roxarsone was present in raw meat, cooking decreased roxarsone and increased inorganic arsenic, implying HMTC must standardize whether testing is done raw, cooked, or both. |
| Regulatory context and ongoing substitute risk | Roxarsone was voluntarily withdrawn from the U.S. market in July 2011, but the article notes it could be sold overseas and potentially return; it also notes nitarsone is still marketed domestically and is chemically similar—relevant to “regrettable substitution” in certification standards. |
Key implications
For HMTC, the clearest regulatory impact is that arsenical drugs function as a controllable upstream source for inorganic arsenic in chicken meat, supporting certification rules that prohibit arsenicals and verify through species-specific testing. Because FDA lacks a firm inorganic-arsenic food standard and cooking can increase inorganic arsenic when roxarsone is present, certification requirements should define matrices (raw and/or cooked), speciation methods, and decision thresholds anchored to a protective reference point. Industry applications include supplier contracts that ban arsenicals, residue screening for roxarsone/nitarsone as process indicators, and surveillance to prevent substitution. Research gaps include post-withdrawal market verification and broader species/brand coverage; practical recommendations include routine speciation audits and transparent label-linked reporting.
Citation
Nachman KE, Baron PA, Raber G, Francesconi KA, Navas-Acien A, Love DC. Poultry Drug Increases Levels of Toxic Arsenic in Chicken Meat. Environmental Health Perspectives. Published online May 11, 2013
Arsenic is a naturally occurring metalloid that ranks first on the ATSDR toxic substances list. Inorganic arsenic contaminates water, rice and consumer products, and exposure is linked to cardiovascular disease, cognitive deficits, low birth weight and cancer. HMTC’s stringent certification applies ALARA principles to protect vulnerable populations.
