Growth of Rats Fed Ground Beef Treated with Aqueous Chlorine

The presence of inordinate amounts of chlorine in ground beef fed to rats is expected to elicit fasting and reduced weight gain if the rats considered the resulting diet objectionable. The 92-day growth curves for male and female rats fed the formulated diet containing beef treated with aqueous chlorine were not different from growth curves of other rats fed the diet containing unchlorinated beef. Similarly, there was no difference in dietary consumption between the two groups of rats. The growth rates of rats fed the formulated diet, with or without aqueous chlorine, were similar but greater than growth rates of other rats fed the commercial control diet. These data indicate that treatment of ground beef with aqueous chlorine did not adversely affect the consumption of the diet or the rate of growth.