Farmers fined after banned animal drug residue found in eggs

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) A recent inspection of 585 poultry, livestock and aquatic product samples found the residue of two banned veterinary drugs in domestically-produced eggs from two livestock farms in Changhua County, resulting in both farmers being fined NT$30,000 (US$926).

Currently, Taiwan has zero tolerance for certain veterinary drug residue in eggs, though others can be used under strict conditions.

The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) conducted the inspections in March and April which showed of the 585 samples, five failed to comply with regulations for the use of veterinary drugs, including the two egg samples, TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said at a news conference on Monday.

The samples were collected from various sources, including importers, wholesale markets, traditional markets, restaurants, supermarkets and hypermarkets, according to Lin.

Egg samples with veterinary drug residues included one from a farm in Changhua which was found to contain florfenicol, a common antibiotic for animals. Exposure to high levels of florfenicol can cause intestinal dysfunction. As a result, Changhua County overnment fined the poultry farm NT$30,000 for violating the Veterinary Drugs Control Act, Lin said.

A sample of eggs from another farm in the county was found to contain nicarbazin, a coccidiostat used on broiler chickens under specific conditions but prohibited for use in egg-producing hens. The farm was also fined NT$30,000 by the local government for violating the same law, he added.

Meanwhile, a domestic chicken sample from Nantou County was found to contain higher than the allowable amount of trimethoprim and the farmer was fined NT$30,000. Another chicken sample from Yunlin County was found to contain higher than the acceptable level of doxycycline and florfenicol and the farmer was also fined NT$30,000.

In addition, a sample of shrimp imported from China by a food company in Kaohsiung was found to contain the banned veterinary drug enrofloxacin, with the importer fined NT$120,000 by the city government for violating the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, according to Lin.