A coalition of non-profit advocacy organizations has filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), alleging that the agency has unreasonably delayed action on several of its petitions relating to the use of antibiotics in animal feed. Natural Res. Def. Council v. FDA, No. 11-3562 (S.D.N.Y., filed May 25, 2011). The plaintiffs seek orders compelling the agency to “withdraw approval for subtherapeutic uses of penicillin and tetracyclines, unless FDA’s findings are reversed in new administrative proceedings.” According to the complaint, while FDA determined in 1977 that these drugs” have not been shown to be safe,” it never withdrew its approvals for the drugs’ subtherapeutic uses. Contending that “misuse and overuse of antibiotics has given rise to a growing and dangerous trend of antibiotic resistance,” the coalition alleges that some of its organizations filed citizen petitions in 1999 and 2005 requesting that FDA “withdraw approvals…
Tag Archives animal feeds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has evidently declined to revisit a final rule published February 17, 2010, that dealt with access to pasture requirements for livestock. In addition to establishing “a pasture practice standard for ruminant animals,” the rule established conditions for organic slaughter stock at “finish feeding” operations, where cattle is typically fed grain crops to improve the grade of beef. In particular, NOP exempted these animals from a provision requiring organically raised ruminants to derive “not less than an average of 30 percent of their dry matter intake (DMI) requirement” from grazing. The agency then solicited comments addressing (i) whether NOP should consider infrastructural and regional differences in finish feeding operations; (ii) the length of the finishing period; and (iii) the use of feedlots for finishing organic slaughter stock. Based on the 500 individual and 14,000 form letters received in response to this request,…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has issued a final rule extending the use of methionine in organic poultry production until October 1, 2012. Effective March 15, 2011, the rule amends the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances according to the recommendations of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which governs the use of synthetic and non-synthetic substances in organic processing and production. A dietary supplement, methionine “is classified as an essential amino acid because it cannot be biologically produced by poultry and is necessary to maintain vitality.” In 2009, the Methionine Task Force filed a petition requesting a five-year extension on the allowance for synthetic methionine, partly because wholly natural sources of the supplement are not available. NOSB ultimately recommended that, at first, “the amount of synthetic methionine per ton of feed be limited to 4 pounds for laying chickens, 5 pounds for broiler chickens,…
European Union (EU) member states have reportedly endorsed a draft regulation aiming to “harmonize the implementation of the zero tolerance policy on non-authorized genetically modified (GM) material in feed.” According to a February 23, 2011, Europa press release, the proposal put forth by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) would allow imported feed to contain up to 0.1 percent unauthorized GM seed, a limit that reflects the lowest level of GM presence considered by the EU GMO Reference Laboratory when validating detection methods. If adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in the next three months, the draft regulation would apply only to GM feed material “authorized for commercialization in a third country and for which an authorization procedure is pending in the EU or of which the EU authorization has expired.” Under these rules, “feed will be considered non-compliant with EU legislation when…
The German Cabinet has reportedly approved an action plan proposed byFood, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister Ilse Aigner that incorporates “tighter rules for dioxin checks into the Food and Feed Code (LFGB)” and proposes several statutory changes to feed production regulations. A response to dioxin-tainted animal feed that temporarily disrupted the European Union’s (EU’s) egg, poultry and pork supply, this early warning system will “enable the supervisory authorities in Germany to respond in a quicker and more targeted manner,” said Aigner, who has vowed “to promote these rules at EU-level. “ The new rules require German food and feed manufacturers “to report all test results on dioxins and similar problem substances to the competent authorities,” who will verify the information and act “immediately” if necessary, and directs private laboratories to “automatically report alarming measurement results of undesired substances that are hazardous to health in foods and animal feed.” According to…
The European Commission (EC) has reportedly threatened to regulate the animal feed industry after dioxin-tainted eggs from Germany triggered a widespread investigation involving poultry and pork farms across the region. EC spokesperson Frederic Vincent apparently told reporters that a meeting with industry leaders produced “no concrete proposals” to prevent new contamination, although participants have been given one month to suggest voluntary measures in lieu of legislation. “There will not be European compensation because it is not up to the European Union to fix the damage,” Vincent said. Meanwhile, German MEP Peter Liese has called for “the dioxin crisis . . . to be resolved on a European level,” possibly through use of a monitoring system, as well as European Union (EU) compensation for farmers caught up in food scandals. “Although EU directives regulate in principle we need better controls throughout the EU. There is a lot of trade within the…
German officials have launched an investigation into an animal feed supplier that allegedly distributed a dioxin-tainted additive to 25 feed manufacturers, who in turn sold products to hundreds of poultry, pork and egg farms in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg. According to media sources, Uetersen-based Harles & Jentzsch GmbH made its additive from mixed fatty acids approved only for industrial use and obtained from a biodiesel company. The Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) has since reported that some additive samples contained 77 times the approved limit for dioxin, an industrial byproduct allegedly linked to cancer, although the agency has not received any health notifications related to consumer products. The revelation has drawn international attention, with South Korea and Slovakia blocking German pork and poultry imports after 136,000 tainted eggs were sold to the Netherlands. As a precaution, BMELV has apparently halted sales at…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an extension of the comment period for a draft compliance policy guide that proposes “certain criteria should be considered in recommending enforcement action against animal feed or feed ingredients that are adulterated due to the presence of Salmonella.” FDA will now accept comments until December 31, 2010. Additional information about the draft guidance appears in Issue 359 of this Update. See Federal Register, October 29, 2010.
An appeals court in New Mexico has affirmed a trial court’s decision to dismiss claims that a horse rancher’s family became ill as a result of exposure to horse feed containing an antibiotic toxic to horses. Parkhill v. Alderman-Cave Milling & Grain Co., No. 29,120 (N. M. Ct. App., decided October 6, 2010). The parties settled claims that the feed sickened or killed horses from several of the plaintiffs’ horse ranches, and the trial court dismissed claims, as a sanction for discovery abuse, that the family’s personal health was affected by exposure to the feed. The appeals court did not reach the sanctions issue, finding that the lower court properly excluded the testimony of the plaintiffs’ experts. The toxin involved was monensin, an antibiotic that is a common additive to feed for livestock, but prohibited in horse feed. The plaintiffs alleged that immediately after contact with the feed they developed skin…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has issued an interim final rule that extends until October 1, 2012, the allowance for methionine in organic poultry production. Effective October 1, 2010, the interim rule allows organic operations to use synthetic methionine at the following maximum limits per ton of poultry feed: (i) four pounds for laying chickens; (ii) five pounds for broiler chickens; and (iii) six pounds for turkeys and all other poultry. According to an August 24, 2010, press release, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in April 2010 called for amending the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances to permit the continued use of synthetic methionine, an amino acid essential for poultry health and development, because its prohibition would “cause substantial economic hardship” for producers. In addition, NOSB has recommended extending the allowance beyond October 1, 2012, to October 1, 2015, while decreasing “the maximum…
