Dangerous Antibiotics Found in Puerto Rican Milk Manufacturing Companies

According to a FDA press release, The M. Dairy Inc. and Las Martas Inc., and Juan Manuel Barreto Ginorio, the owner of the dairies, have been issued permanent injunctions by The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico due to the fact that unapproved drug residues (antibiotics not allowed)were found in Milk and Milk products. The drug residues found by FDA included antibiotics such as sulfamethazine, sulfathiazole, sulfadimethoxine, and penicillin at levels not permitted by FDA

The court order has been issued after an investigation led by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in regard to the companies´ practices and procedures for product manufacturing. Milk and milk products and Meats were being sold by both companies. No illegal drugs or illegal levels of approved drugs should be present in milk and milk products intended for human consumption.

FDA evaluates and approves new animal drugs with level usage requirements, including a specified time period to withdraw an animal from treatment prior to slaughter. The FDA regulates the use of drugs in cows for human consumption. Illegal levels of animal drugs may pose a risk for adverse effects on human health

The order prohibits the sale of milk until compliance is met. Also animals should be quarantined to allow enough time for drugs to be metabolized and depleted from the meat animal tissue.

Between August 2003 and September 2005, The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) sampled animals fro the mentioned dairies and found five illegal residues in the edible tissue of dairy cows.

Recent FDA inspections confirmed that the companies and its owner continued to use illegal animal drugs on levels not allowed by FDA. Also, there was no veterinarian's oversight, and no traceable record-keeping systems, to be completely sure that they did not sell milk or animals for slaughter for human food with illegal new drug residues.