Steroid Hormones and Food Safety

Since the 1950s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep, including natural estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and their synthetic versions. (FDA) These drugs increase the animals’ growth rate and the efficiency by which they convert the feed they eat into meat. (FDA) The principle of using steroids is very controversial due in part to people wanting to know what is in their food however with the growing population of the United States and also other countries around the world, it could be said that it is a necessity to use hormones to provide enough meat to the population.

The FDA approves these drugs only after information and/or studies have shown that the food from the treated animals is safe for people to eat, and that the drugs do not harm the treated animal or the environment. (FDA) The drugs also have to be effective, meaning that they work as intended. (FDA) The labeling for each product provides all instructions for safe and effective use and is approved by FDA. (FDA) For each approved product, the FDA also makes available to the public via its website a Freedom of Information Summary that summarizes the information that FDA used to determine that the drug is safe for the treated animals, the animal products (edible tissues such as meat) are safe for humans to eat, and that the product is effective. (FDA)

Some of the approved drugs are naturally produced throughout life in people and animals, such as estradiol (estrogen), progesterone, and testosterone. (FDA)These natural hormones are necessary for normal development, growth, and reproduction. (FDA) People are not at risk from eating food from animals treated with these drugs because the amount of additional hormone following drug treatment is very small compared with the amount of natural hormones that are normally found in the meat of untreated animals and that are naturally produced in the human body. (FDA)

Some of the approved drugs are synthetic versions of the natural hormones, such as trenbolone acetate and zeranol. (FDA) Just like the natural hormone implants, before FDA approved these drugs, FDA required information and/or toxicological testing in laboratory animals to determine safe levels in the animal products that we eat (edible tissues). (FDA) Furthermore, FDA required that the manufacturers demonstrate that the amount of hormone left in each edible tissue after treatment is below the appropriate safe level. (FDA) As described above, a safe level is a level which would be expected to have no harmful effect in humans. (FDA)

With everything there is the good, bad and ugly. In order to make the right decision for yourself you need to do research about what is in your food and what you are willing to risk. Every source of meat is regulated by the Department of Agriculture and also regulated by the FDA. 


Reference
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm055436.htm

Introduction to Food Safety

Food Safety and the food sector of the United States is ever changing. At the center, is the United States Department of Agriculture or more commonly called the USDA. Under the USDA's control, the Food Safety is controlled by two departments; food processing and food distribution. The USDA has many jobs in making sure that the food we eat is the best quality possible through inspecting imports, exports, conducting risk assessments and educating the general public. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)  will ensure that the nation's meat, poultry and processed egg supply is wholesome, safe and properly labeled. (USDA) 

USDA continues to protect consumers from the dangers of E. coli contamination by adopting of a zero tolerance policy for six additional strains [E. coli O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145] of the pathogen in raw beef products. (USDA) Prohibiting them just like to E. coli O157:H7. (USDA) By having more strict policies the estimated 25,000 cases of food borne illnesses is prevented through these measures. Implementation of a "test and hold" policy in December 2012 prevents the recall of unsafe foods. (USDA) Facilities are now required to hold product until microbiological testing can determine it is safe to release meat, poultry and egg products into commerce. (USDA) This will dramatically lower the outbreaks of sickness in consumers. USDA continues to enhance the Public Health Information System, a modernized, comprehensive database that allows the agency to identify public health trends and food safety violations more effectively at the nearly 6,200 plants where the Food Safety and Inspection Service ensures the wholesomeness of the products produced. (USDA) 

Operation of the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, the USDA Food Safety Discovery Zone traveling exhibit and the FSIS Web-based virtual representative Ask Karen are key components of USDA's consumer education programs. (USDA) The Hotline responded to over 80,000 inquiries (calls, webmail and chats) in fiscal year 2013, Ask Karen views totaled more than 2.35 million. (USDA) In that time, USDA Food Safety Discovery Zone outreach events in the national capital region exposed approximately 619,539 consumers to food safety messages. (USDA) The USDA is also a major contributor of consumer food safety to the content presented on the website, FoodSafety.gov.  (USDA) To further engage consumers about the importance of food safety at home, USDA teamed with the Ad Council to develop the Food Safe Families campaign, a national, multi-media food safety public education campaign to prevent cross-contamination and to ensure proper cooking and chilling. (USDA) The campaign is developed in English and Spanish to reach a broader group of people. The campaign motivates consumers to take four simple steps--clean, separate, cook and chill--to protect themselves and their families from foodborne illness. (USDA) Food Safe Families is entering its fourth year and has been seen or heard by more than 1 billion since its June 2011 launch. (USDA)

At USDA, prevention is the anchor, and science is the basis of every food safety decision made. (USDA) Our scientists in FSIS, Agriculture Research Service (ARS), and in other agencies inform our approach to food safety. (USDA) USDA conducts and funds food safety research to generate real-world results for both government and the private sector. (USDA) The department is particularly proud of recent work that patented new technology that protects pasteurized liquid eggs, examined the safety of beef trim imports and efforts that led to the publication of the first draft genomes of six dangerous non-O157 strains of E. coli. (USDA)

The importance of the USDA is critical to being protected against food borne illnesses. The department is the first line of defense in preventing issues that are cause by disease or infections in the consumer products that are a result of animal processing. Without the USDA, the safety of food in the United States would not be up to par and it would ulimately, raise health care costs and eventually kill a portion of the people infected with the food borne abnormalities. 

Reference

Food Safety. USDA. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal  /usda/usdahome?navid=food-safety