Expert: No Safety Concerns for Animal Feed Despite Carcinogen Detection in Cooking Oil

Concerns have been raised about the safety of animal feed following the detection of the carcinogen Benzopyrene (BaP) in cooking oil produced by Chung Lien Oil. The oil was made from soybeans imported from Brazil and the United States. The soybean meal byproduct, used as a raw material for animal feed, has led to public worries.

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Animals metabolize quickly, and no country has set BaP standards for feed. The oil content in soybean meal is only 0.5%, and the oils added to feed are mainly palm oil.

However, Xu Zhenzhong, an honorary professor at National Chung Hsing University's Department of Animal Science and a leading expert in animal feed, stated that these concerns are unwarranted. He explained that the oil extraction process for soybeans results in soybean meal with a very low residual oil content, approximately 0.5%. Furthermore, Xu noted that no country has established BaP standards for animal feed.

Xu elaborated that this international consensus stems from the rapid metabolism of livestock. Animals raised for meat, such as broiler chickens typically slaughtered within 30 days, have quick metabolic rates. Similarly, egg-laying hens are culled if their productivity declines. This rapid turnover and metabolism mean that any potential exposure to substances like BaP does not significantly impact their safety or the safety of the products derived from them.

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Economic animals metabolize extremely quickly, and the global consensus is that setting BaP standards for feed is meaningless and does not affect the safety of livestock products.

While some feed formulations require added fats for energy, particularly for broilers, the amount is carefully controlled to prevent issues like feed pelleting problems. Feed manufacturers also prioritize cost-effectiveness, often using palm oil, which is cheaper than salad oil. If salad oil is used, it's typically in very small quantities, and even if the detected BaP level of 8.1 ppb were present, its concentration in the feed would be diluted to less than 1 ppb. Xu emphasized that the economic realities of animal farming mean feed formulations are optimized for cost and nutritional efficiency, not for luxury ingredients or unnecessary safety standards for feed.

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If this salad oil, detected with 8.1 ppb of Benzopyrene, were added at 5% in the feed, it would be diluted by 1/20, and the Benzopyrene content would be less than 1 ppb.