Source:  Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 4/13/10

A March audit report by USDA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concluded that the agency, along with the Food & Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, "is not accomplishing its mission of monitoring the food supply for harmful residues."

In accordance with a 1984 Memorandum of Understanding, the three agencies are to cooperate on the national residue program to keep veterinary antibiotics, pesticides, heavy metals and the like out of commerce. But, "Together, FSIS, FDA and EPA have not established thresholds for many dangerous substances (e.g., copper or dioxin3), which has resulted in meat with these substances being distributed in commerce. Additionally, FSIS does not attempt to recall meat, even when its tests have confirmed the excessive presence of veterinary drugs," the report said.

The bulk of the report focuses on recommendations from the OIG for jump-starting residue monitoring and intervention. They include expanding the substances the agencies test for, improving their methodology for sampling hazardous residues, determining more efficient ways of approving newer methods of testing for drug residues and collaborating to set tolerances for additional residues. The report included 14 specific recommendations for actions FSIS should take.

The audit includes FSIS's response to a draft of the report that it had reviewed earlier; FSIS did not take issue with any of the OIG's recommendations.

To see a copy of the report in its entirety, click here. 

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