Hundreds of thousands of eggs a day are still being contaminated with antibiotics because of procedures at feed mills. The extent of the problem has been revealed by the Government’s Veterinary Residues Committee. Researchers found traces of the anti-coccidiostat Lasalocid in 4.8 per cent of the eggs it tested.
Since the drug is not used in layer feed the only way it can be present is by contamination at mills caused either by shoddy working practices or because tests carried out to identify the presence of drugs are not sensitive enough.
Although egg producers are blameless the findings amount to another bout of bad publicity for the industry. The Daily Mail told its readers that “a million eggs a day may contain poison” and that in a year consumers are eating 40 million eggs that have levels of Lasalocid six times higher than recommended limits.
Amanda Cryer, who speaks on behalf of the BEIC, said the sampling had been targeted at suppliers and farms where it was thought there might be a problem.
“We are pressing feed manufacturers to make sure they do something about this and better segregate their feed,” she added.
The situation is getting worse because as the agricultural sector shrinks mills are being closed and more types of feed are being produced from single premises.
Even so some milling companies have made the decision to ban Lasalocid and similar antibiotics from their premises. This means that customers have to use vaccination against coccidiosis, which is proving effective but does have a cost implication.
BFREPA vice chairman John Widdowson said: “If producers aren’t using feed from a drug-free mill they need to ensure their compounder is taking every possible step to avoid the risk of cross-contamination.”
