FLUORIDE CONTENT OF COMMERCIAL DAIRY CONCENTRATES AND ALFALFA FORAGE

The fluoride content of 168 samples of 16% dairy feed and 107 samples of alfalfa hay from different parts of the United States has been determined. The dairy feeds ranged from 3 to 296 p.p.m. of F with a mean of 21 p.p.m. of F and a median of 15 p.p.m. F. Only 7% of the samples exceeded the 90-p.p.m. limit set by the American Feed Control officials. Alfalfa hay from areas thought to be free of industrial fluoride pollution ranged from 0.8 to 36.5 p.p.m. of F, with a mean of 3.6 p.p.m. and a median of 2.0 p.p.m. There was no apparent relationship between alfalfa fluoride content and geographic location. The problem posed by dairy concentrates which are high in fluoride, but which are legally acceptable in areas where fluoride is also an industrial pollutant, is discussed. © 1969, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.