Which item was destroyed in the greatest quantity during the PBB incident?

• A. 800 tons of animal feed
• B. 18,000 lbs cheese
• C. 34,000 lbs dried milk products
• D. 2,500 lbs butter

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that the PBB contamination came from cattle feed, so the priority was to destroy the bulk feed to stop the contaminant from entering the animals and then into dairy products. That’s why the largest quantity destroyed was the animal feed—800 tons, which is about 1.6 million pounds—far more than any dairy product. The dairy items listed (cheese, dried milk products, butter) were also destroyed to prevent contaminated milk from reaching consumers, but their quantities were much smaller in comparison. Understanding that a contaminant in feed can quickly spread through the food chain helps explain why the feed stock, rather than the dairy products, was destroyed in the greatest quantity.