Drug Misuse On Minnesota Dairy Cows Prompts Federal Warning - Cow overdosed with 129 times the federal limit

Drug Misuse On Minnesota Dairy Cows Prompts Federal Warning

Two Minnesota cows that could have ended up on a dinner plate were pulled from slaughter lines after federal inspectors discovered dangerously high levels of antibiotics in both animals.

In a rare move, federal officials sent stern warning letters to two central Minnesota dairy farms, which were among only 30 farms nationwide reprimanded so far this year for violating the rules governing how animal drugs can be used.

J&L Dairy, in Clarissa, Minn., sent a dairy cow to slaughter in March, even though it was drugged with 129 times the amount of penicillin allowed under federal regulations.

Another farm, Evergreen Acres Dairy, LLC, in Paynesville, Minn., was warned by the FDA last month, after one of its cows was found to have more than four times the allowed amount for a certain type of antibiotic. Further inspection found that the farm had misused 10 other drugs.