The secret, cancer-causing ingredient in pork products
It was the deep, dark secret the pork industry didn’t want you to know about.
And things would have stayed just that way. But at the end of last week the FDA went and spilled the pork and the beans!
The agency issued a press release telling the world about the drug carbadox. How it’s used in pork production, how there may be residues in the meat, and the fact that the drug can cause…cancer.
That’s right, you might be getting a bite of this carcinogenic animal antibiotic in your bacon or pulled pork sandwich.
But while the FDA says it’s taking steps to have this med banned, it looks like that’s going to be a long time away — if ever.
So before you have one more bite of that ham sandwich, hot dog or sausage — or anything else containing pork — here’s what you need to know about the dark side of the “other white meat.”
It’s an antibiotic approved for pigs that has been in use for a very long time — over 40 years.
But carbadox was found to cause both cancer and birth defects, which is why other countries have taken steps to keep it out of their food supply. Places like Canada and Australia — and the entire European Union.
That’s right. If you bring home the bacon anywhere in Canada, you won’t be eating residues of this drug along with it.
But the FDA must have been on a long lunch break for the last decade or so, and that had American pork producers who use the med as happy as a pig in a mud puddle. Finally, however, it couldn’t ignore the issue any longer.
You see, two years ago an international committee that develops food safety standards called the Codex Alimentarius Commission, said that there “is no safe level” of carbadox that could be considered an “acceptable risk to consumers.”
In other words, the level of carbadox these experts say you want in your ham sandwich is zero.
That announcement may have caused the FDA to finally limp into action, saying that it’s taking “steps” to ban the drug — something Canadian officials figured out how to do over a decade ago.
But in reality, these are nothing more than baby steps, because the manufacturer of carbadox, Phibro Animal Health out of New Jersey, is going to fight this ban until the pigs come home.
The company wasted no time issuing its own press release saying how safe the drug is, and how “disappointed” it is that the FDA would do such a thing. Especially since it’s got some new studies up its sleeve that will be out in 90 days!
Seriously? They’ve had decades to prove the “safety” of this drug, and now the FDA has disappointed them?
And if you think this antibiotic is just used to treat sick animals, well, it’s not.
Phibro tells a tear-jerking story about how carbadox helps poor little piggies with Salmonella and “swine dysentery.”
But even the FDA will tell you that it’s also used — and approved — for what’s called “production.” That means carbadox is added to feed to fatten up the pigs faster. And we’ll probably never find out how much of this dangerous drug is in our food, as there are no rules that require farmers to disclose what meds they give to their animals.
So for now, the only way to keep this risky drug out of your breakfast, lunch or dinner is to buy organic pork.
And be especially sure to avoid any non-organic foods that may contain pork liver — things such as liverwurst, hot dogs and sausages.
Sources:
“FDA takes steps to withdraw approval of the swine drug carbadox due to safety concerns” FDA news release, April 8, 2016, fda.gov
