A recent letter issued to Shank Farms, Inc., in Hagerstown reveals the FDA's intention of taking further regulatory action against farming operations that send drugged up cattle to slaughter, thus putting public health at risk.

Dated January 17, 2014, the letter warns Shank Farms President Mr. Garry B. Shank that he is in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for selling a cow for slaughter as food that still had high levels of desfuroylceftiofur, a residue of the antibiotic drug ceftiofur, in its system. According to a tissue analysis conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS), the cow contained levels of the drug more than three times higher than the legal maximum.