(FDA) —The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against John C. Virtue, doing business as Virtue Calves, and Shannon L. Virtue for selling veal calves for use as food that contain illegal drug residues in violation of federal law.
The decree prevents the Virtues and Virtue Calves from purchasing or selling any animals for use as food unless and until they take certain actions to assure that animals with illegal drug residues do not enter the food supply.
The decree, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Protection Litigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, requires defendants to keep written records to identify which animals have been medicated and to segregate medicated and non-medicated animals.
Previous FDA inspections of defendants’ operations found recurring violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that defendants failed to correct.
Ingesting food containing excessive levels of antibiotics and other drugs can cause severe adverse reactions among the general population even at very low levels and can harm consumers who are sensitive to antibiotics.
“The FDA continues to take strong enforcement actions against companies that put consumers’ health at risk,” said the FDA’s Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, Dara A. Corrigan. “The actions we took are necessary to ensure that these foods don’t contain illegal residues of drugs.”
If defendants violate the decree, the FDA may order them to cease selling animals for use as food and to take other corrective actions, including payment of fines for each day defendants fail to comply and for each animal sold in violation of the decree.
For more information:
Federal Food Safety Information 1
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.
