FEED ADDITIVE & HORMONE IMPLANT REGULATIONSAnimal Science IIUnit 3

Regulation of the Use of Additives

Regulated by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Regulations change from time to time as new information on effects and changes becomes available

Current detailed information may be found in the Feed Additive Compendium This is published annually

Regulation of the Use of Additives*

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 21 contains official information from the FDA concerning approval of antibiotics and other animal drugs Revisions are made annually as of April 1 and

the CFR is updated in individual issues of the Federal Register

The CFR and Federal Register must be used together to determine the most current regulations concerning animal drugs

Label Requirements

Any feed that contains one or more drugs is defined as a medicated feed May be complete feed mixes or pre-mixes

that are mixed with other feeds FDA requires all manufacturers of

medicated feeds to provide information on the label relating to the use of the feed

Label Requirements

“Medicated” must appear under the name of the feed

Specific purpose of the drug or drugs must be on the label

Name and amounts of all active drugs must be listed

Required withdrawl period prior to slaughter must be given

Cautions against misuse must be listed Directions for the use Lot or control number for later identification Medicated feeds that are mixed at the local feed

mill must meet the same requirements

Mixing and Residue Avoidance Proper mixing is important for safe use Drug residues can cause financial losses A regular procedure should be followed

when mixing medicated feeds to avoid problems and drug carryover

P. 157-8

Keeping Records

Recommended records Date the batch was mixed Mixing order and amount of medication added Mixing time Storage location Number, age, weight of animals fed from the

batch and amount given per head Medication that was used, amount,

concentration in the batch Date of cleaning mixers, bins, conveyors,

feeders

Keeping Records

Have a long term plan for the use of the feed additives

Periodically changing the type of antibiotic used Reduces the chance of the microorganisms

building immunity Should be made about once a year Do not make frequent changes

Health Concerns

Growing concern that the continued use of antibiotics in animal agriculture will have an adverse effect on humans as well as animals

Centers around the use of antibiotics at subtherapeutic levels

feared that this continued use will lead to the development of resistant strains of microorganisms

Bacterial resistance to drugs has been observed almost from the time antibiotics were first used in animal feeding

Economic Impact

Increased cost of animal products to the consumer

Less meat and livestock produced Cost of production would be higher More feed would be required per animal and

decreased rate of gain Death loss

No Evidence*

To date no persuasive evidence of animal or human health problems arising from nearly 30 years of using antibiotics in animal feeding

Many of the same antibiotics used today are the same as the ones that were used when antibiotic feeding began and they are still effective against most microorganisms

Critical experimental study is needed on the effect of low-level antibiotic feeding on animal and human health

Cancer Causing Effects

FDA has expressed concern 1958 Food Additives Amendments to the

Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 include prohibitions against adding to food any substance that is a know carcinogen

Ongoing research into the possible carcinogenic effects of feed additives

If effects are found in any additive, it’s withdrawn from use