The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is concerned about what it calls "important potential public health problems." It may be in your latte or your child's breakfast cereal bowl. It may be in your refrigerator or freezer. At the very least, the FDA wants to determine that it is not in any of the 8 million dairy cows in the United States or the 500,000 dairy cows in Idaho.

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service released the test results last year that showed extremely high levels of drugs and antibiotics in cattle on dairy farms across the country, including Idaho, the federal agency announced that it would initiate a series of tests to address a potential The problem. The Idaho Dairy Industry decided to pass some unofficial tests to rule out FDA actions. However, the test records were inaccessible, and their strategy meeting records did not exist.

On January 4, dairy workers from all over Gem State met at the Boise Headquarters of the Idaho Department of Agriculture to discuss this issue. ISDA officials stated that there were no meeting records, no recordings, and no meeting records.

Participants decided that the dairy plant in Idaho would send milk samples to the ISDA Animal Health Laboratory for drug and antibiotic analysis. However, ISDA did not keep records of the analysis, and the findings were sent to the Idaho Dairy Association, which has exclusive ownership of the findings.

"These are unofficial samples. We don't have to keep records," said Brian Oakey, deputy director of ISDA.

When asked if ISDA would be interested in the results, Oki's answer was "no".

The response to the drug residue survey results, the federal sampling plan, and the January 4 meeting ranged from surprise to anger.

"I think this is exactly what [ISDA] should do," said Republican Senator Tim Cod, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

"This is troublesome because these people are responsible for oversight," said Democratic Senator Lesbok, a member of the Agriculture Committee.

At least one participant at the January 4th meeting was upset.

A senior person in the dairy industry who requested anonymity said: “There is a regulator with the industry and said,'It’s okay, we will help you cover your butt'.” “To be honest, I don’t know if you will. Find people in the dairy industry who are willing to talk to you. They all have jobs, and they like their jobs."

During our reporting process, we were constantly advised to contact ISDA or the Idaho Dairy Association for their opinions. However, ISDA did not want to participate in the interview, and the Dairy Association did not reply many times.

The law is as clear as a cowbell. Residues of drugs or antibiotics that exceed the safe or acceptable levels set by the FDA are illegal. One of the agency's first tasks is to "ensure the safety of animal-derived food for human consumption." Therefore, the FDA is responsible for ensuring that drugs used to treat or prevent diseases will not be abused or misused in food animals.

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When you think of beef, you don't immediately think of cows. However, when illegal substances are found in meat, inspectors say that the root of the problem can be traced back to dairy products as a good choice. According to the FDA, although 7.7% of cattle slaughtered in the United States are dairy cows, a disproportionate 67% of drug residue violations are directly related to dairy cows (the other 27% are traced to calves from dairy farms). According to data from the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, the frequency of drug residue violations in dairy cattle tissues is three times that of beef cattle tissues.

But drugs are as common as beef patties in dairy farms across the country. The average life span of a cow is six or seven years, and it is pregnant regularly and is milked continuously. Give cows antibiotics to treat mastitis, which is a potentially fatal breast infection. Long-acting antibiotics can be used for treatment, but the milk of such cows cannot be sold until the drug residues are cleared from the animal system. Cows receiving mastitis treatment should be isolated from the dairy herd to remind dairy workers.

"Some dairy farms even have so-called'hospital barns' that can accommodate any cows undergoing treatment," Cod said. "Some processors are very sensitive to this."

To understand food safety and meat inspection in the United States, an introduction to American history is necessary. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln established the United States Department of Agriculture and appointed a chemist to oversee what would become the FDA. With the increase in storage yards and large meat packaging plants, President Chester Arthur established the Animal Industry Bureau, which was the predecessor of the Food Safety and Inspection Bureau. As early as 1891, meat and cattle sent to slaughter were inspected. The next thing is of historical significance. The writer Upton Sinclair targeted the cruel and exploitative meat packaging industry in 1905's The Jungle, prompting President Theodore Roosevelt to order federal inspectors to be stationed at the meat packaging plant. The FDA was formally established in 1927, and regular inspections of meat, poultry, and dairy products in the country have become commonplace.

In 2010, FSIS reported flagrant violations in the U.S. food chain. An investigation of dairy cows sent to slaughter beef found that there were illegal amounts of drug residues in the liver and kidneys of dairy cows, otherwise these drugs would turn into hamburgers or T bones. In other words, hundreds of positive samples of drug residues were found in animal tissues shipped to the country for meat supplies.

The drugs range from the familiar (penicillin) to the unknown (Tilmicosin, an antimicrobial drug used for respiratory diseases). FSIS even detected gentamicin. Two federal veterinarians confirmed that gentamicin can be retained in cattle organs for up to three years. The Institute of Safe Medication Practice labelled gentamicin as a "highly alert drug" and warned that the drug "has a high risk of causing major harm." Its manufacturer Lexi-Comp lists possible adverse reactions to the central nervous system, skeletal instability, and renal failure.

According to FSIS, approximately 20,000 tissue samples from cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats are tested each year. In 2010, more than 1,100 violations were traced to cows sent for slaughter, and 40 of these violations were traced to Idaho.

"These are scientifically selected samples based on multiple algorithms," the FSIS spokesperson explained. Federal inspectors conduct preliminary sampling at the meat processing plant. If there is reason to doubt, the larger sample will be forwarded to one of the three FSIS laboratories for confirmation.

In each case, the FSIS residue violation report traces the source to cattle, most of which are cows that have been sent to beef auctions. The 40 incidents in Idaho included 8 different drugs, 11 of which violated illegal restrictions on penicillin in the kidneys. Eight were traced to flunixin, an anti-inflammatory analgesic, and six violations were traced to sulfadimethoxine, an antibiotic. There were four separate violations of using gentamicin (any trace of the drug is a violation). There are also four violations of Tilmicosin (although it is not officially banned, its tolerance level is zero).

Some violations are beyond the scope of the chart. In July 2010, FSIS found flunixin residues in dairy cows at Double A Dairy, which can be traced back to Jerome. FSIS stated that this cow's flunixin is 2,000% higher than the allowable level. In another violation, the content of sulfamethazine in the liver of a dairy cow was 27,000% higher than the legal level, which can be traced back to the beef auction of the Jerome Producer Livestock Marketing Association.

"Obviously, we care about our industry very much," said Jordan Lake, a spokesperson for Double A Dairy. "But I can only tell you this. We were told to forward all your calls to the Idaho Dairy Association."

When we told the Lakers Association did not respond to any of our calls, he said that he could only say so.

"Drug residue violations in dairy cow tissues are usually caused by bad farm practices," said FDA spokesperson Stephanie Yao. Yao said these practices may include failure to keep treatment records, failure to identify animals receiving treatment, abuse of doses, extension of treatment time, and/or administration through unapproved routes of administration.

"The FDA is concerned that mismanagement of meat residues may also lead to drug residues in milk," the FDA wrote in a January statement.

"The purpose is to conduct sampling tasks under the cooperation of the state and the milk industry, specifically for those dairy farms with a history of drug residue violations," Yao said. "The data obtained from this mission will provide evidence as to whether these dairy factories' practices that lead to organizational residue violations also caused potential milk safety issues."

Inspectors regularly test Idaho milk to check for common antibiotics such as penicillin and ampicillin. But the 2010 FSIS list of violations confirmed many people's concerns that dairy farmers may use drugs that are not regularly tested.

According to the Idaho Department of Agriculture:

Magic Valley is the center of the dairy industry in Idaho, with 318 producers and nearly 400,000 cows, producing more than 9 billion pounds of milk. Therefore, most drug residue offenders in this state come from the same region.

Burley’s Oak Valley Dairy had a total revenue of $5 million last year. According to the FSIS investigation, the dairy product is also the home of two dairy cows. These dairy cows contain trace amounts of gentamicin and tilmicosin, and the tolerance level of these two drugs is zero. Jerome's Double A Dairy has approximately 13,000 cows. FSIS reported that the levels of ampicillin (600%), flunixin (500%), and sulfadimethoxine (2,000%) in samples from four double A animals exceeded acceptable limits.

In Treasure Valley, a Marsing dairy product was identified by FSIS as a repeat offender. According to reports, the tissues of the three cows of Van Es Dairy are registered within the tolerance limits of flunixin and sulfadimethoxine.

In December 2010, FSIS and FDA sent messages to Double A, Oak Valley, Van Es, and more than 30 other Idaho dairy farms. Federal regulators need to determine whether there is inappropriate farm management on farms where drug residues have been found. practice. But the test plan was strongly opposed by the dairy industry, claiming that its consequences could force farmers to dump millions of gallons of milk unnecessarily.

John Wilson, senior vice president of American Dairy Farmers, the largest dairy farmer cooperative in the United States, said: "So far, what food and medicine provide can be very harmful to innocent dairy farmers." January. Wilson said that the country’s milk is safe, and there is no reason to believe that the results of the slaughterhouse’s investigation will be replicated in the milk supply test.

BW obtained two self-proclaimed friends of the Idaho dairy industry: a copy of a letter sent by the International Dairy Association and the National Milk Producers Federation to the FDA, which represent 85% of milk and farmed products, cheese and frozen Desserts are produced and sold in the United States. Large milk lobbyists opposed plans to test dairy product samples at processing facilities in Idaho. On the contrary, IDFA and NMPF lobbied to take milk samples from farmers’ bulk tanks, which many people believe is a fair and just test method.

The alleged offenders-under the direct influence of the ISDA Dairy Directorate-have instituted next steps, including unofficial testing, to prevent federal intervention.

Despite repeated requests, neither ISDA's Dairy Products Bureau Director Marv Patten nor ISDA Director Celia Gould agreed to be interviewed for this story.

However, the agency did agree to accept some written questions, which were answered by ISDA Chief of Staff Pam Juker and ISDA Deputy Director Brian Oakey.

Both said that the January 4th meeting was not an official ISDA event, although it was held at the agency’s headquarters and Patten chaired the meeting. They said ISDA did not record the meeting, nor did it record the meeting minutes.

But Okie insisted that this decision was not part of a subversive effort or cover-up.

"We hope to proactively provide information to manufacturers and the industry," Auki said.

In fact, the dairy industry in Idaho was well represented at this conference, with more than 50 participants representing dairy owners, milk processors, and veterinarians. There are representatives from the Northwest Dairy Association and the Idaho Milk Producers Association in the room. A representative of Jerome Cheese received a call from its Magic Valley headquarters, and they turned millions of pounds of milk into 500,000 pounds of cheese every day.

The information distributed to participants included diagrams and instructions for test kits used to detect antibiotics in animal tissues. The dairy farm also received guidelines for milk screening testing, detailing the acceptable and unacceptable sensitivity levels of each drug that the FDA will test. In addition, the participants also received an article from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association detailing the consequences of using illegal drugs in food animals.

"In the case of repeated or flagrant abuse of the law, a ban will be issued to the producer until it can be proven that all animals in the premises are free of residues," the JAVMA article said. “If the animal does not remove the residue within 60 days, the ban may become permanent. In extreme cases, the person in charge may be fined or imprisoned.”

At the meeting, representatives of the dairy industry developed a plan for unofficial testing. Although these tests were carried out in the ISDA Animal Health Laboratory, agency officials stated that they did not propose tests, adding that they did not see the results and ISDA did not keep any copies or records of the results. Oakey added that because the test was not ordered by the state, the results will not affect any current dairy product plans.

"The results of the milk test are the property of the Idaho Dairy Association," Juker said. "If you want to know what the result is, you need to talk to them."

The Dairymen's Association was established in 1944 to promote a $1.8 billion industry in the gem state and obtain funding through the evaluation of dairy producers. Juker said the Dairy Association recommended a milk sample testing protocol, but there is no official record of what the agreement contains.

Senior agricultural and political expert Tim Corder said that ISDA and Idaho dairy farmers should not be complacent on this issue.

"If I'm in this industry, I want to know about this problem so I can solve it," Corder said. "If it is fixed, I don't know if I want it to become public knowledge. If you solve the problem, that's the goal. But if you can't solve the problem, definitely make it public."

Cord was quick to add that there should be no slack for consecutive offenders.

"Repeal? This is a problem," Cod said. "They didn't get a pass. It's not from the department. It's not from this industry."

Senator Les Bock agreed with his colleagues on the Ag committee.

"The dairy industry in Idaho has been working hard to clean up its behavior, and we want to believe that," Bok said. "But if it seems that they are not at first, it will damage their credibility in the committee."

Bock stared at the FSIS violation report.

"I don't buy anything other than organic food anyway," Bock said, pointing to the list. "This is why."

Although the FDA announced plans to test dairy products in Idaho, these tests have not yet begun.

"It hasn't been finalized yet," said FDA spokesperson Stephanie Yao. "Milk sampling has not yet started. We hope to seek further advice on ways to help us solve the issues raised as much as possible."

When the FDA began to appear on hundreds of American farms, including Idaho, Yao said they would look for well-regulated dairy products.

"A well-managed dairy farm will record each animal that is treated, the treatment it receives, the time it was treated, and the way it was treated," Yao said. "Producers use these records so that they can ensure that the processed cows are returned to the milking skewers or sold for slaughter in order to meet the appropriate withdrawal time to prevent illegal drug residues in meat and milk."

But Yao confirmed that sometimes, inspectors will find problems.

"Yes, the FDA is concerned that the same mismanagement that leads to meat residues may also lead to drug residues in milk," Yao said.

Oakey said his agency is waiting for the FDA's next move.

"This is in their court. I can't speculate what will happen," he said.

Cord said he believes there are many closed-door conversations on this issue.

"Idaho dairy farms don't want someone to read a report in your newspaper that makes people suspect that they are no longer buying milk or cheese. This is the last thing a dairy factory wants."

Cod said he looks forward to being more transparent on this issue in the near future. "I suspect that the Dairy Association is trying to plan a process, not around this issue, but through this issue."

A version of this article first appeared in Boise Weekly.

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