Herrington Farms Inc. – FDA Warning Letter, May 20, 2015

On May 6, 15, and 20, 2015, the FDA investigated Herrington Farms, Inc. and found violations of the FD&C Act. Two bob veal calves sold for slaughter were adulterated due to unsafe new animal drug residues. A calf sold on November 25, 2014, had 71.35 ppm sulfamethazine in liver and 64.29 ppm in muscle. Another calf sold on January 6, 2015, had 51.97 ppm sulfamethazine in liver and 50.57 ppm in muscle. The FDA tolerance for sulfamethazine in cattle is 0.1 ppm, but there is no acceptable level for bob veal calves.

The farm also held animals under insanitary conditions, likely leading to medicated animals with harmful drug residues entering the food supply. Deficiencies included failure to maintain complete treatment records, failure to identify animals for sale, and holding expired drugs.

Furthermore, the new animal drug (sulfamethazine) was adulterated because it was used extra-label without following approved labeling for animal class. This extra-label use was not under a licensed veterinarian's supervision and resulted in illegal drug residues, violating 21 C.F.R. 530.11(a) and (c).

Herrington Farms must take prompt action to correct these violations and prevent recurrence.