Food Safety & Defense
January 11, 2012
FDA Begins Drug Residue Sampling Survey
The Food and Drug Administration drug residue sampling survey that was initially proposed in 2010 is now underway. Members may login for more information. FDA aims to determine if farms with previous drug residue violations in market-bound meat from dairy cows have farm management practices that may lead to drug residues in milk.
The survey involves the collection of nearly 2,000 universal milk samples at central milk testing laboratories, with 900 milk samples from dairy producers with a previous violation for cull dairy cow tissue residue and another 900 random milk samples. The samples will be blinded, meaning they cannot be linked to a specific farm, co-op or plant. They will be tested for about 30 different antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory residues.
The sampling survey is expected to take at least 12 months to complete. IDFA and others in the dairy industry continue to work with FDA on concerns related to the testing methodology and the reporting of presumptive positive test results, which are likely to be confusing to consumers.
"IDFA is committed to eliminating violative residues in the milk supply and in any dairy product processed from that supply," said Jon Gardner, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards.
For more information, contact Gardner at jgardner@idfa.org.
BACK
