FDA Will Pull Vet Drug Used in Pork Industry Over Cancer Concerns for Humans

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it plans to pull a veterinary drug used commonly in the pork industry because it might pose a cancer risk to humans who eat pig products.

The antimicrobial, carbadox (Mecadox), is typically added to pig feed to fight infections and fatten up the animals. But pork contaminated with "carcinogenic residues" from the drug could wind up in foods like hot dogs and cold cuts, though the agency stressed in its notice that it is not telling people to change their food choices at the moment.

The FDA concerns with carbadox date back decades: When it was first approved in 1998, the agency's worries were abated by a strategy that involved testing edible parts of pigs that had been given carbadox. According to the agency, data now show that those testing methods do not adequately measure the cancer risk posed by pork produced while using the drug.

Drug maker Phibro Animal Health Corp. said Tuesday it was "extremely disappointed" by the latest FDA move. "While Phibro has continuously offered to meet with FDA to discuss the regulatory method and has offered viable alternative methods currently being used in other countries, it is clear that, instead, the FDA is ignoring the long history of safety that Phibro has established and reaffirmed through its most recent studies," the company said in a news release.

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