High amounts of drug residue constantly found in country's beef supply

Meat eaters beware — 56 farms in 19 states have produced beef over the last year that tested for high levels of drugs — mostly antibiotics but also some anti-inflammatories — on more than one occasion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)(pdf).

The veal industry appears to have the worst record of compliance. Over the past year, there have been 86 instances where “bob veal” calves tested above the acceptable limits for antibiotic residue, according to the USDA. Bob veal are calves that are younger than three weeks and weight up to 150 pounds (regular veal weighs up to 450 pounds, and can be up to 18 weeks old, the USDA says).

The amounts are frightening — in some cases, up to 17 times the acceptable concentrations were found in veal. Golden Jay Dairy of Tulare, Calif., grew veal for Cutting Edge Meat of Newman, Calif., that had 17 times the acceptable concentration of Neomycin in the animal’s kidney as allowed per USDA regulations.

Johann Dairy Farm in Fresno, Calif., grew veal for Los Banos Abattoir in Los Banos, Calif., that has eight times the amount of Neomycin allowed.

Ken Naples of Canandaigua, NY grew bob veal for Ohio Farms Packing of Creston, Ohio, that had 12 times the allowable antibiotic.

The list goes on. What’s particularly unsettling is that brand names such as “California All Natural” were producing products that have excessive antibiotic residue. In some cases, the USDA limit is zero, and yet these companies are still producing meat, especially veal, that has too much drug residue.

The USDA compiles a list of repeat offenders (pdf) — farms and meat distributors that have failed drug residue tests more than once over the past year. The following states were home to farms that are repeat offenders, according to the USDA: Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.

California, by a long shot, had the most offenses — 24 farms in the Sunshine State failed to comply with residue limits.

Farms that had the most violations, according to the USDA, are VS Ranch (four in one month); Rancho Teresita (four over five months); R & D Ranch (five in one month, then another one six months later); Oakdale Calf Ranch (five in two months); Johann Dairy Farm (seven in three months); and Cunha Calf Ranch (seven in two months).

Muscle and kidney tissues from farms in the above  19 states contained either one or more of the following drugs: Penicillin*, flunixin*, Neomycin, Dihydrostreptomycin*, Sulfamethoxazole*, Desfuroylceftiofur, Tetracycline, Gamithromycin*, Gentamicin*, Ciprofloxacin*, Enrofloxacin*, Tylosin, Oxytetracycline, Sulfadiazine*, Florfenicol and Sulfadimethoxine.

Neomycin was the drug found most often in animals, according to the USDA. Flunixin is an anti-inflammatory drug, used mostly to treat muscle and joint pain and prevent sepsis (blood poisoning). Florfenicol is a synthetic antibiotic used to treat Bovine Respiratory Disease and foot rot. The remaining drugs are all antibiotics.

Maybe we should start buying organic meat, or stop eating meat all together, or call these farms and demand they stop using drugs on these animals. 

*These drugs have a zero residue limit in most applications.