In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warning letters to two dairy farms regarding illegal drug residues in animals sold for slaughter for food. Hageman Dairy Farms in Ossian, IA, was cited for selling a feeder steer in May that had neomycin in its kidney tissue at 50.52 parts per million (ppm) when FDA has established a tolerance of 7.2 ppm for such residues. In June, the same farm sold a feeder heifer with sulfadimethoxine 0.130 ppm and flunixin at 0.147 ppm in its liver, according to the agency. FDA’s established tolerances are 0.1 ppm for residues of sulfadimethoxine in the uncooked edible tissues of cattle and 0.125 ppm for residues of flunixin in the liver of cattle. In December 2013, Valley Mead Farms LLC of Monticello, WI, sold a dairy cow with 1.14 ppm of sulfadimethoxine in its liver tissue, 0.763 ppm of sulfadimethoxine in muscle tissue, and 0.656 ppm of flunixin in its liver tissue, FDA stated. The agency’s letter also indicated that the farm had not used these drugs or penicillin G procaine as directed by their approved labeling or veterinary prescription. “Our investigation also found that you hold animals under conditions that are so inadequate that medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply,” read both warning letters. The letter to Valley Mead added that the farm “failed to maintain complete treatment records that included correct meat and milk withhold times, dose administered, route of administration, and responsible person.” In each letter, FDA requested that the companies provide written responses detailing steps taken to bring the facilities into compliance with food-safety laws and regulations, to correct violations cited in the letters, and to prevent their recurrence. Recipients of these warning letters have 15 working days from receipt to outline specific steps they have taken to come into compliance with the law.