A32-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 24,1990
COLLEGE PARK. Md.
“Drink your milk, it’s good for
you” is a phrase familiar to most
of us from childhood. But is it
true?
Doubts were first raised in
December, when the Wall Street
Journal published the results of a
survey it had commissioned,
which suggested that the Ameri
can milk supply is contaminated
by antibiotic residues. Follow-up
tests by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) produced
conflicting results.
“It’s not surprising that con
sumers are confused,” said Dr.
Mark A. Kantor, a food and nutri
tion specialist with the University
of Maryland Cooperative Exten
sion Service (MCES). “But if they
examine all the facts, I think
they’ll see that there’s no cause for
alarm.”
He explained the situation this
way: The Wall Street Journal used
a new test method called Charm II
to screen samples of milk from 50
supermarkets in 10 cities across
the country. Nearly four out of 10
samples (38 percent) tested posi
tive for antibiotics or sulfa dnigs.
When FDA scientists used the
same test on their own nationwide
sample of milk, they got an even
higher positive reading for anti
biotic contamination -SI percent.
But when they tested the same
samples using more sophisticated
techniques, they found no evi
dence of any drug residues.
This comes as no surprise, said
MCES Dairy Production Special
ist Dr. James T. Marshall.
“The FDA’s testing methods
are very specific,” he said. “They
not only let you know whether or
not there are drugs in the milk, but
they also tell you exactly which
drugs are present. The Charm II
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Marshall also thinks caution on
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“Cows, like people, do get
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biotics just like physicians pre
scribe antibiotics for sick patients.
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“The industry spends millions
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positive for drug residues never
makes it to the processing plant.”
But even if some milk with anti
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“Milk in one carton is a blend of
milk from many different cows,”
he explained. “It’s theoretically
possible that if even one cow in
hundreds or thousands were given
antibiotics, trace amounts could
show up in some cartons. But that
doesn’t mean the milk supply is
unsafe.”
And to ensure that the milk
supply remains safe, the FDA
plans to step up its regulatory
efforts. It is to continue to regular
ly monitor pasteurized milk and
will make sure that individual
states use proper, approved testing
procedures. Agency personnel are
to also conduct educational pro
grams on proper drug usage for
farmers.
•Consequently, Marshall and
Kantor both emphasized that there
is no reason for consumers to stop
drinking milk.
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calcium, it’s an excellent source of milk are particularly beneficial risks of not drinking milk are far
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vitamins and other minerals,” content” encountered by drinking it.”
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