Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: Food safety tool shut down due to lack of funding

TSCRA Daily News Update, Oct. 10, 2008

Food safety tool shut down due to lack of funding

The Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) is shutting down due to lack of funding. FARAD is a tool used by veterinarians and producers to ensure that drug residues and other contaminants do not end up in meat.

The program is run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), in partnership with North Carolina State University, the University of Florida and the University of California-Davis.

To remain functional, the program needed long-term funding of $2.5 million per year. Although FARAD was authorized in the 2008 farm bill, it was not included in USDA's budget, and Congress has not provided appropriations to fund the program.

NCBA continues to press for funding for FARAD, providing testimony and other information to Congress to demonstrate the need for the program.