A Message from the Front Lines of Food Safety; Take Action for More FARAD Success

For the past two weeks, we’ve been telling you how important the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) is to protecting food safety in our nation. FARAD, for those of you just tuning in, is a primary resource used to ensure contaminants do not end up in meat, milk and eggs.

And if you don’t believe that FARAD is important to all of us, let us share with you a message we received earlier this week from the University of California at Davis, one of FARAD’s operations centers. The message underscores the vital role that FARAD plays every day in the safety of this nation’s food supply. (By the way, if you have similar stories you’d like to share, email them to avmagrd@avma.com).

From the email:

“FARAD recently assisted a veterinarian and producer from Iowa. The case was a herd of beef cattle that were exposed to an organophosphorus insecticide used for corn. Several animals in the herd died, but a portion of the animals lived. The animals that died were sent to the diagnostic laboratory and the organophosphate was detected in the gastrointestinal tract.  Based on information in the literature and data that FARAD had collected from other cases, FARAD was able to make a slaughter withdrawal interval recommendation for the remaining animals.

Due to the scientific data that we have amassed over the years and the historical experience that we have had with similar cases, FARAD was in a unique position to be able to rapidly respond to this contamination case.  Organophosphates can have harmful effects on both humans and animals and compounds in this class have been used as nerve agents in warfare.  FARAD is pleased to be able to assist with keeping the nation's food supply safe and we hope to be able to continue this service in the future.” [Bolding of text added by us.]

Is there any doubt how important FARAD is to protecting our food supply? If not for FARAD, this food source might have easily entered the food chain!

Yet somehow, funding for FARAD is still in limbo – Congress is still being wishy-washy about committing any money to fund this resource!  Only $2.5 million a year! That’s less than 9 cents per person to protect our food supply!

There’s still time to contact your senators and representative and tell them to keep our food safe. Tell them to make sure Authorization for the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank is included in the Farm Bill. We need your help to protect food safety. Take action today and tell Congress to keep this provision in the Farm Bill.