Farmers, food industry challenge dioxin proposal

They say an EPA-proposed limit is too strict and could frighten consumers, thereby hurting sales.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111221/BUSINESS/312210066/1012/NEWS11/?odyssey=nav|head
WASHINGTON — Farmers and the food industry are trying to kill a proposed safety standard for dioxins, chemicals that can cause cancer and are widely found in meat, seafood and dairy products.

Industry groups say a daily exposure limit for dioxin proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency isn’t justified and could unnecessarily scare consumers away from meat and milk products. An individual could ingest more than the proposed daily limit of dioxin in a single meal, the groups say.

“The implications of this action are chilling,” they said in a recent letter to the White House. “EPA is proposing to create a situation in which most U.S. agricultural products could arbitrarily be classified as unfit for consumption.”

The proposed standard would not by itself trigger any regulations on farmers or food companies, but the government could later recommend measures, including restrictions on the content of livestock feed, to reduce the amount of dioxins that people could consume.

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