Watch out for drug residue

[dun]

FDA takes action against Iowa dairy
An investigation into illegal drug residues by the Food and Drug Administration has led to a permanent injunction being filed against a Rock Valley, Iowa, dairy. The injunction is based on nine illegal residues in the edible tissue of seven dairy cows sampled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) between July 21, 1992, and March 10, 2006. For more details, http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01679.html.

 

[mnmtranching]

Any one that sends a animal to slaughter before the drug withdrawal time, should be fined and put out of business. And what are they doing putting it in muscle tissue :x
This stuff is bad for the beef industry. And the cows were sick on top of it.

 

[somn]

Any one that sends a animal to slaughter before the drug withdrawal time, should be fined and put out of business. And what are they doing putting it in muscle tissue :x
This stuff is bad for the beef industry. And the cows were sick on top of it.

First off I never seen it say muscle tissue. On top of that where did it say these cattle had been sent to slaughter before the withdrawl time had expired? Drug residues can stay in the kindey for a much longer amount of time than the withdrawl time set forth by the FDA. Especially considering most of the time the dairy cows are in poor health at the time of treatment therefore the organ function is less than perfect or should I say the kidneys function poorly compared to that of healthy animals. If they didn't keep records on treatments administered that is the only thing I can see they did wrong.

 

[TexasBred]

Since these are dairy cattle and apparently were tested at a slaughter house you'd have to assume the were sold as "packers". Antibiotics are most common drug used in dairy animals and are probably what USDA found. Infusion of antibiotics into the teat end for treatment of mastitis as well as possible injection (yes IM injection) would be most likely cause of the drug residue. Although these drugs show a "milk withdrawl time" many do not give you a withdrawal time on meat. You just have to be very very careful and hope you've held them out of the food chain long enough for all meds. to be out of the system. There are "on farm" tests for antibiotics in milk, but unfortunately I know of none for meat, but you'd assume that as long as the milk test positive for drugs the meat would also. (Just one man's opinion)

 

[mnmtranching]

Any one that sends a animal to slaughter before the drug withdrawal time, should be fined and put out of business. And what are they doing putting it in muscle tissue :x
This stuff is bad for the beef industry. And the cows were sick on top of it.

First off I never seen it say muscle tissue. On top of that where did it say these cattle had been sent to slaughter before the withdrawl time had expired? Drug residues can stay in the kindey for a much longer amount of time than the withdrawl time set forth by the FDA. Especially considering most of the time the dairy cows are in poor health at the time of treatment therefore the organ function is less than perfect or should I say the kidneys function poorly compared to that of healthy animals. If they didn't keep records on treatments administered that is the only thing I can see they did wrong.

I've had the misfortune [many times] seeing cull dairy cows going through the auction, look sick to me, kept alive on antibiotics.

To me at least, edible tissue is muscle. Keeps me from buying hamburger in a grocery store. :shock:
I'm glad for the ambulatory law it least it keeps the real bad ones out of the human food chain. I hope the dairy involved is put out of business for good.
And Feedlots that pump critters full of antibiotics and sell before withdrawal time should go down the same road.

What do you think Somn?

 

[dun]

The point is that it doesn;t matter if it's a dairy cow or a beef cow. If you've been treating with antibiotics make sure of the withdrawl time before marketing it.

 

[somn]

Any one that sends a animal to slaughter before the drug withdrawal time, should be fined and put out of business. And what are they doing putting it in muscle tissue :x
This stuff is bad for the beef industry. And the cows were sick on top of it.

First off I never seen it say muscle tissue. On top of that where did it say these cattle had been sent to slaughter before the withdrawl time had expired? Drug residues can stay in the kindey for a much longer amount of time than the withdrawl time set forth by the FDA. Especially considering most of the time the dairy cows are in poor health at the time of treatment therefore the organ function is less than perfect or should I say the kidneys function poorly compared to that of healthy animals. If they didn't keep records on treatments administered that is the only thing I can see they did wrong.

I've had the misfortune [many times] seeing cull dairy cows going through the auction, look sick to me, kept alive on antibiotics.

To me at least, edible tissue is muscle. Keeps me from buying hamburger in a grocery store. :shock:
I'm glad for the ambulatory law it least it keeps the real bad ones out of the human food chain. I hope the dairy involved is put out of business for good.
And Feedlots that pump critters full of antibiotics and sell before withdrawal time should go down the same road.

What do you think Somn?

I was hoping that wouldn't go in one ear and out the other but it looks like it must have.
The tissue most commonly used for testing is the kidney. There is your edible tissue. As I stated before detection of drug residue in no way proves positive that those cattle had been slaughtered within the withdrawl period. Unhealthy cattle have poorly functioning organs. If 2 cattle are treated at the same time and slaughtered on the same day the healthy animal will show no drug residue and a sick one can show drug residue. Anyone who thinks just because they have withheld from slaughter an animal for the length of the withdrawl period that it will never show drug residue is very naive. Record keeping is the key. I wonder if someday when one of your slaughter cows comes back with drug residue in the kidney will you still think the same way? That you should be put out of business also?

 

[mnmtranching]

My point is, Sick animals should not go into the human food chain.
With or without antibiotics. Don't sell anything that you wouldn't eat yourself.