Pesticide animal food products, level

If a pesticide is to be applied to livestock, or will result in residues in the feed of livestock, the possibility of residues in meat, milk, poultry, and eggs arises. Data on metabolism, analytical methods, and level of residue in animal food products are needed in those cases. The same considerations of identification of the terminal residue and developing analytical methods suitable for enforcement mentioned previously also apply to residues in animal products. The tolerances for animal products are based on the tolerances on the animal feed items, the significance of those feed items in the diet of livestock, and the potential... 

Cottonseeds, and their derivatives, are also known to contain hazardous pesticide residues, often at levels significantly higher than those observed in cottonseed oil. Furthermore there is strong evidence that residues consumed by animals can be incorporated into food products. In laboratory experiments, hens reared on food containing parathion (WHO la) and methamidophos (WHO ib) showed traces of the pesticides in their eggs, while cattle reared on diets containing parathion (WHO la), aldicarb (WHO la), and methamidophos (WHO Ib), passed these chemicals into their milk . 

EPA establishes raw agricultural commodity (RAC) and food additive tolerances for pesticides on food. Carcinogenic pesticides may be registered and tolerances may be set for the raw agricultural commodity if the levels are safe however, if the concentration of a pesticide on food increases when it is processed, a food additive tolerance is required. The Delaney clause of FFDCA does not allow a food additive tolerance to be set, even if EPA believes it is safe, if the compound has been shown to induce cancer in man or animal. A narrow interpretation of the Delaney clause has prevented registration of new products in circumstances where the upper-bound risks were estimated to be much less than one in a million. 

The evaluation of a number of immunoassay diagnostic kits was undertaken to determine their usefulness in a regulatory analytical laboratory environment in the food, feed and pesticide areas. Four rapid enzyme immunoassay tests for the detection of aflatoxin residues at the 20 ppb level in animal feeds were compared to the official HPLC procedure. In the pesticide area, a commercial pentachlorophenol competitive inhibition assay for residues in water was investigated as to its applicability to poultry and pork liver matrices. In addition, an ELISA screening procedure for the herbicide fusilade was developed. Modifications were incorporated into the rapid immunoband 1-2 Test procedure for the detection of motile Salmonella in various food and animal feed products resulting in quicker analysis than the standard culture method. Also, a comparative evaluation of a Quik-Card Test for sulphamethazine drug residues in pork urine, liver and muscle tissue, is described. 

The FFDCA governs the establishment of pesticide tolerance for food and feed products. A tolerance is the maximum level of pesticide residues allowed in or on human food and animal feed. ... 

Most of the data located concerning the health effects of heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide in humans come from case reports and occupational epidemiology studies of workers engaged either in the manufacture or application of pesticides. There is some information on people who have consumed heptachlor-contaminated food or dairy products, but no adverse health effects have been related to these exposures. The occupational studies involve exposures that are predominantly inhalation with contributions from dermal exposure, whereas all the animal studies were conducted using oral or intraperitoneal exposures. The occupational and case reports provide no quantitation of dose or duration of exposure, which makes it impossible to determine with any precision the effect levels for humans. There are no data that indicate that heptachlor or heptachlor epoxide are carcinogenic to humans. However, human studies are limited by the long latency period of carcinogenesis and by ascertainment and follow-up biases. 

The ADI is usually set one hundred times lower than the no observable effect level (NOEL). A much greater safety factor is required if there is evidence that the pesticide causes cancer in test animals. Although the Delaney Amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prevents the addition of an animal carcinogen to foods, it does not apply to pesticide residues that occur inadvertently in the production of the crop. 

Pesticides may stick to treated surfaces, such as food or feed products that are to be sold. To protect consumers, there are legal limits (tolerances) for how much pesticide residue may safely remain on crops or animal products that are sold for food or feed. Products that exceed these tolerances are illegal and cannot be sold. Crops and animal products will not be over tolerance levels if the pesticides are applied as directed on the product labeling. Illegal pesticide residues levels usually result when ... 

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