Chicken liver and arsenic: More than you bargained for?

So you are thinking about trying Mom’s chicken liver and rice casserole and have heard that your chicken liver may well have a whole lot of arsenic in it. What to do?
First, I do like liver for its nutrient density. Chicken liver is high in B vitamins, iron, and zinc, all of which fight depression if you are deficient. But, heck, arsenic would be a bad trade-off for some vitamin B-12.

The basic problem is that chicken feed can contain roxarsone, an additive that contains arsenic. Chicken producers are required to stop feeding this additive to chickens in the days leading up to slaughter to allow for a decline in arsenic in the actual meat. The ultimate levels of arsenic depend greatly on when the additive is pulled from the feed (and of course if the additive was used in the first place).
One study [full text PDF] found that our exposure in regular old chicken meat is much higher than researchers expected as a result of this feed additive. Arsenic in the liver meat itself is higher than the muscle, certainly a concern for liver-eaters.
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) took the analysis further for consumers and tested popular brands of chicken meat, including livers [PDF]. As a consumer, a good point to keep in mind is that this feed additive is not allowed in organic product. The IATP analyses did find some arsenic in organic chicken, but organic chicken was far more likely to have low or non-dectable levels than was conventional chicken.
None of the organic liver samples tested contained arsenic.
The bottom line appears to be that if you are a liver lover, it is probably best to look for that “USDA Organic” label when shopping for chicken liver.
This post is part of Fight Back Friday.