Ben and Jerry's
gourmet ice cream has levels of dioxin 2,200 times higher than
those authorised for waste water discharged into San Francisco
Bay from a nearby refinery, according to a study released Thursday.
The study,
presented Thursday at a 'Dioxin 2000' conference in Monterey,
California, estimated that the concentration of dioxin found in
Ben and Jerry's could account for 200 "extra" cases
of cancer among lifetime consumers of the ice cream.
The study,
completed by one former government scientist and confirmed by
an independent laboratory, singled out the contradiction between
the firm's promotional material for the ice cream, and the product's
potentially harmful contents.
Ben and Jerry's
Homemade, the company which makes the ice cream, has been well-known
for its much-vaunted attitude of social responsibility -- reflecting
the views of its original owners. In April, Dutch conglomerate
Unilever acquired the company for 326 million dollars.
The Ben and
Jerry's website cites a Greenpeace warning on the dangers of dioxin
in the atmosphere.
The study
said that a serving of Ben and Jerry's ice cream was found to
contain 80 picograms of dioxin. "In contrast, the Tosco Refinery
wastewater is permitted to contain 0.14 picograms of dioxin per
liter," said Michael Gough, the leader author of the study.
Gough is a
former chair of a US Health and Human Services advisory panel
which looked at the effects of dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange
on US Air Force personnel in Vietnam.
He and co-author
Steven Milloy of Junkscience.com said they believe existing scientific
evidence does not credibly link low levels of dioxin exposure
with human health effects.
But they criticised
the company for a product which was in conflict with its own promotional
literature.
"Ben
and Jerry's and Greenpeace ... have concluded that dioxin is not
safe at any level.
"If dioxin
is so dangerous, perhaps Ben and Jerry's should removed its ice
cream from the market until it is 'safe,' consistent with the
company's promotional literature," Milloy suggested.
Christine
Heimert, a spokeswoman for Ben and Jerry's at its headquarters
in South Burlington, Vermont, said: "This is not a food safety
issue ... The fact is dioxins are global environmental pollutants.
"They
exist worldwide primarily as a result of certain industrial practices,
and they do in fact make their way into the food chain ... especially
(in) dairy products."
Federal authorities
have not laid down a limit for dioxin levels in food, she noted,
adding that the only reason the study's authors "have singled
us out (is) because we have taken a very public stance on dioxin."
The Ben and
Jerry's website warns that "dioxin is known to cause cancer,
genetic and reproductive defects, and learning disabilities ...
The only safe level of dioxin exposure is no exposure at all."
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