Human food safety medicinal products

A distinct concern arises in the area of veterinary dmgs because of the possibiUty that dmg residues may be conveyed to humans by the food-producing animals. Therefore, dmg residues and their safety in human food remain a central issue for the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Animal dmgs also include those products which promotional Hterature claims to improve feed efficiency and increase milk production. An animal food product is regulated under the 1968 Animal Dmg Amendments if it contains a dmg used in feed or premixes (25). 

As both human and veterinary medicine expand their armamentarium into more powerful classes of therapeutic agents, the range of drugs with a potential of use in food-producing animals is continuously widening. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has estimated that as many as 400 substances, not all of which are veterinary drugs, have the potential for use in food animal production (2). 

Why had TOCP been added to the ginger extract Tri-orthocresyl phosphate was readily available as it was a constituent of lacquers and varnishes, and was extensively used in the leather industry. It was seen as an ideal solvent to use in the preparation of jake because it was odourless, tasteless, colourless, and cheap. It was also miscible with the resinous extract of ginger and soluble in alcohol. Unfortunately, it was very toxic to humans, a fact that appears not to have been known. At the time there was no law requiring food additives or medicinal products to be tested for safety, and thus the suppliers had broken the law, not by supplying a contaminated and unsafe product, but by selling a product that was not as described in the US pharmacopoeia. In June 1930 twenty-one men and six New York corporations were indicted for conspiracy to violate federal laws. 

VICH (International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements of Veterinary Medicinal Products), Studies to evaluate the safety of residues of human drugs in human food General approach to establish a microbiological ADI, VICH Topic GL36 (Safety), 2005. http // www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en GB/document library/Scientific guideline/2009/ 10/WC500004537.pdf... 

But wait. Let s remember that chemicals have virtually transformed the modern world in extraordinarily beneficial ways. During the past 100 years the chemical industry has offered up, and we have eagerly consumed, thousands of highly useful materials and products. Among these products are many that have had profoundly beneficial effects on human health - antibiotics and other remarkable medicinal agents to prevent and cure diseases, pesticides to protect crops, preservatives to protect the food supply, plastics, fibers, metals and hundreds of other materials that have enhanced the safety and pleasures of modern... 

The most recently reported UK results on surveillance for veterinary drug residues in meat and animal products show that traces of these compounds can, and sometimes do, arise in food. As all of these compounds are biologically potent in order to be effective in use, it is necessary to ensure that any residual activity in a food product does not present a risk to the consumer. The use of veterinary medicines inevitably leads to the presence of trace residues in food and the purpose of toxicological safety evaluation is to determine at what concentration the residues of a particular compound becomes a cause for concern with regard to human health. Thus, dose-response relationships have to be established and used to determine the concentration of a dmg at which the risks to human health become acceptable and are outweighed by the benefits from the use of the drug. This is in essence the process involved in the setting of Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADIs) and... 

Although the major nutraceuticals included in this article are components of food or present in normal human metabolism, adverse effects and interactions with prescription medicines have been reported. Increasing use of these compoimds by consumers at high doses and chronic administration may reveal further adverse effects. Little or no research into safety and quality is required by law, which has potentially serious implications for the safety of the product, and the health of the consumer. 

---