Food Safety : Use of banned drugs in food animal production and the health implication in man.

Animals raised and processed for food have a great deal of impact on the health and well being of man. The saying "you are what you eat" hold true ,as whatever you throw in or gulp down shows up in terms of fat or a trim frame. 

Now a days the term is modified to you are "what your animals eat", meaning if you feed crap,you get crap at the end. The business of raising animals for consumption is not a minor issue, aside the monetary issue(profit margin),the health status of the animals and by extension humans that consume these products is very important as the drugs used in the production line must be safe for the animals and humans as well. 

 The superbugs issue has actually been traced to misuse or overuse of antibiotics in food animal production and this has birthed the antibiotic free production movement ,everyone is alert and aware of nutrients,health benefits,side effects and most importantly,people are going organic. 

This awareness has helped to enforce certain regulation and formulation of new regulations regarding what drugs to use and what not to administer during production. The regulation coupled with surveillance and strict inspection during slaughter to test for residues has helped to prevent greedy producers from passing dangerous products to the public. 

 This is the case of a cattle breeder;Stanley Richardson (67) from Woodford, Newtowngore,convicted and fined €500 and ordered to pay costs of €5,000 after he was found guilty of selling an animal which had been given bute, a banned substance.

Richardson was found guilty of selling a bull which had been administered the banned substance phenylbutazone, also known as bute. 

 Phenylbutazone is known to induce blood dyscrasias, including aplastic anemia, leukopenia, agranulocytosis, and thrombocytopenia, and can result in death. Hypersensitivity reactions of the serum-sickness type have also been reported. 

 The banned substance has the potential to have a carcinogenic effect on humans, thus why it is prohibited in food producing animals. Bute can be used to treat horses, as it is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, provided horses treated are not intended for human consumption.

Most Turkey Producers Allow Routine Antibiotic Use.

A report shows that most turkey producers allow the indiscriminate use of antibiotics as growth promoters. Humane farming advocates Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) have released an overview of the antibiotics and other drugs used in turkey production.The organization is part of the Keep Antibiotics Working coalition, which recommends that food animal producers limit the use of medically important antibiotics to disease treatment in order to prevent overuse and subsequent spread of antibiotic resistance. FACT found that among the top 20 turkey producers, only Hain Pure Protein, marketed under the Plainville Farms Brand, and Tyson Foods, marketed under the Hillshire Brand, stated that they don’t allow their producers to routinely use antibiotics related to those used in humane medicine either for disease prevention or for growth promotion. FACT recommends that consumers avoid companies that allow ractopamine or routine antibiotic use and seek out companies that are transparent about the drugs they use in food production. The report also recommends that consumers look for products that are produced under a third-party certification that includes controls on veterinary drug use. read more here; http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/11/report-most-turkey-producers-allow-routine-antibiotic-use/#.VlRn23arSM8