Antibiotic Residue Avoidance Strategy
1. Identify all animals treated with a permanent form of ID.
2. Record all treatments: Date; animal ID; dose given; route of administration; name of the person who administered the treatment; withdrawal time (WD).
3. Strictly follow label directions for product use.
4. Use newer technology antibiotics when possible.
a. Reduce unwanted depot effect. Select low volume products when available.
b. Select generic medications and vaccines with EXTREME CAUTION.
c. Avoid inferior products. They may cause performance loss or damage quality.
5. Select with short WD when antibiotic choice is equivalent.
6. Never give more than 10 cc per IM injection site.
7. Avoid Extra Label Drug Use (ELDU) of antibiotics.
a. Use label dose and route of administration.
8. Avoid using multiple antibiotics at the same time.
9. Don’t mix antibiotics in the same syringe, especially if given IM or Sub-Q.
10. Check ALL medication/treatment records before marketing:
a. Don’t market cattle with less than 60 WD without examining the treatment history.
b. Extend the WD time if the route or location of administration is altered.
i. Example; the WD for ear route of administration ceftiofur will be over 120 days if given SQ in the neck.
ii. Example; tissue irritation will cause the WD for Banamine to be over 30 days if given IM or Sub-Q instead of IV.
c. Extend the withdrawal time for multiple medications given by summing their label recommended WD.
i. Example; if the 1st medication has a 10 day WD and the 2nd medication has a 28 day WD, assign a 38 day. WD.
ii. Example; if 1st medication has a 10 day WD and is repeated in three days, assign a 20 day WD.
d. Extend the WD for all penicillin given at doses which exceed the label dose
i. Example; the WD for Procaine Pen G given at 3 CC per CWT IM or Sub-Q is over 30 days
ii. Example; the WD for Procaine Pen G given at 4 CC per CWT IM or Sub-Q is over 30 days
iii. Example; the WD for Long Acting Pen G given at 3 CC per CWT IM or Sub-Q is over 120 days
iv. Example; the WD for Long Acting Pen G given at 4 CC per CWT IM or Sub-Q is over 180 days
1. Testing urine test may not detect injection site residues and will test positive by the USDA-FSIS.
e. Never inject gentamicin or neomycin. The estimated WD is over 24 months
i. Testing urine test may not detect a kidney that will test positive by the USDA-FSIS.
f. Don’t market cattle that have relapsed without examining the treatment history.
g. Don’t market cattle with suspected liver or kidney damage without examining the treatment history.
h. Don’t market cattle with antibiotic injection site knots without examining the treatment history.
i. Screen the urine for antibiotics of all cattle identified in steps a-d above. It is best to use broad spectrum microbial inhibition test such as the Pre-Harvest Antibiotic Screening Test (PHAST), a microbial growth inhibition test which uses B. megaterium as the test organism. Test sensitivity relative to FDA-CVM violative residue tolerances (Maximum Residue Limit or MRL).
Withdrawal (WD) Table for Common Cattle Animal Health Products
Antibiotic Residue Avoidance Strategy DownloadAdditional Information on Drug Usage at the Following: