Who Knows What Your Cows Are Eating
By: Amy Jeanroy
Published: June 10, 2011

Did you know that the companies adding antibiotics to the feed for livestock have to go through FDA inspections? Do you even know what antibiotics are added to the feed?  It seems that no one really does, including the companies that have the license to do so.
These companies, or feed mills, have to apply for and adhere to licensing rules from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Once they are approved, they can then add antibiotic growth promoters into the feed for cows, pigs and other animals in our food chain. The medicated feed industry accounts for 80% of the annual antibiotic use in the U.S. 
Recently, two licensed medicated feed mills were cited for significant deviations from what is referred to as "Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Medicated Feed." This means that the medicated product is considered adulterated. Some of the problems found were listed on the Food Safety News site: 
Drug components used in the medicated feeds had not been properly controlled to assure their identity, strength, quality and purity once they were incorporated into a product.

Pesticides were not being handled or stored in a manner to prevent cross-contamination with feed products.

Insecticide was being improperly stored with drugs, and rodenticide was being used in other areas of the facility without proper controls.

Daily drug inventory records were not being properly kept, and medicated feeds containing two different drugs were "not within the permissible limits" and no investigation or corrective action was documented.

This is just a sample of the problems found. It is interesting that those who support adding antibiotics use their so called "safety" as part of the promotion, yet the very places adding the antibiotics, are not even following the rules.