Pennsylvania Dairy Farm Will Stop Improper Medication
July 28th, 2010 ksager
A Pennsylvania dairy farm will adhere to federal regulations that protect meat from illegal drug residues caused by unapproved medication of cattle before slaughter, as part of a consent decree of permanent injunction obtained by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA action against H.B. Williams Inc., of Kingsley, Pa., and company owners Donna L. Williams, Jeffrey D. Williams, and Mark H. Williams, was taken July 26, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The drug residues detected in tissue samples of the farm’s dairy cows and veal calves during tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service included antibiotics such as neomycin, flunixin, desfuroylceftiofur, and sulfamethazine at levels not permitted by the FDA.
Under the decree signed by U.S. District Judge James M. Munley, the farm is not permitted to sell animals for food unless and until it meets several requirements. A recordkeeping system to track the identity of medicated animals with drugs and dosages given must be approved by the FDA. After the farm resumes selling animals for food, the decree authorizes the FDA to shut down the farm and pay fines if FDA determines it is in violation.
The FDA is concerned about the sale of animals for human food that might contain illegal levels of animal drugs because of the possible adverse effects on human health. The FDA approves new animal drugs with requirements, including a specified time period to withdraw an animal from treatment before slaughter, to ensure that a drug has been depleted from edible tissue to a level safe for humans.
The dairy farm sold animals through local livestock auctions to slaughterhouses that ship beef products to customers in New Jersey, New York, Maine, and Michigan.
