WASHINGTON – Beef containing harmful pesticides, veterinary antibiotics and heavy metals is being sold to the public because federal agencies have failed to set limits for the contaminants or adequately test for them, a federal audit finds.
Overuse of the antibiotics helps create antibiotic-resistant strains of diseases.
The audit “shows clearly the need for quick action by Congress to place some reasonable limits on the use of antibiotics in farm animals,” says Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., who has more than 100 co-sponsors on her bill to ban seven types of antibiotics from being used indiscriminately in animal feed.
