This column is usually reserved for a review of the various features of a specific ingredient used in petfoods. But this issue, the focus is on a class of contaminants that periodically find their way into food and feed for humans and animals. The contaminants in question are mostly man-made halogenated hydrocarbons—or as you see them in the headlines, PCBs and dioxins.
These are actually a couple of large categories that contain hundreds of specific compounds with some common structural features. They also share the dubious honor of being either industrial chemicals or waste products from spent consumer hard goods. Unfortunately, when mishandled, they can end up contaminating our food and feed supply.
