Author
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Yen, Jong Tseng |
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Submitted to: Trace Elements in Man and Animals International Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 5/19/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Trace amounts of seven mineral elements including iron, copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese, iodine and selenium are usually added to the diets of food producing animals. Dietary supplementation of trace elements assures optimal animal production and enhances animal products as an important source of trace minerals in the human food supply. Only a fraction of supplemental trace elements appears in animal products, whereas significan quantities of ingested trace elements are excreted by the animal. Land application of animal manures is a convenient and long used disposal method that benefits the fertility of soils. The practice generates concerns for trace element contamination of the food web on which the human food supply depends. This paper reviews a few of the key features in soil plant animal and human interrelationships of trace element nutrition and offers a perspective regarding the impact of trace element supplementation in food producing animals on the food chain. It concludes that animal manures are extremely safe when applied to agricultural lands properly and that appropriate supplementation of trace elements in food animals does not risk the food chain. Technical Abstract: Trace amounts of seven mineral elements including iron, copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese, iodine and selenium are usually added to the diets of food producing animals. Dietary supplementation of trace elements assures optimal animal production and enhances animal products as an important source of trace minerals in the human food supply. Only a fraction of supplemental trace elements appears in animal products, whereas significan quantities of ingested trace elements are excreted by the animal. Land application of animal manures is a convenient and long used disposal method that benefits the fertility of soils. The practice does generate concerns for trace element contamination of the food web on which the human food supply depends. This paper will review a few of the key features in soil plant animal and human interrelationships of trace element nutrition and offer a perspective regarding the impact of trace element supplementation in food producing animals on the food chain. |
