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National Residue Program Quarterly Report (Jul–Sep 2021)

National Residue Program

In FY 2021 Q4, nine analytical methods were used by FSIS to detect approximately 260 different 

veterinary drugs, pesticides, and environmental contaminants. Key observations are below.

Surveillance Sampling Plan

Specified slaughter subclasses are sampled at the time of slaughter, after a carcass has passed 

antemortem inspection. Of the 1,811 samples analyzed by FSIS (1,721 from U.S. Federal plants and 90

from U.S. State inspected plants), five sample contained violative chemical residues. In total, more than 

361,000 chemical residue analyses were conducted on the 1,811 samples collected under the 

surveillance sampling plan. 

 
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Table 1: Summary of FY 2021 Q4 Surveillance Sampling Results

Animal

Category Animal Class

Total Number of 

Samples Planned for FY

2021

Number of Samples Analyzed this Quarter

Total

Samples1

Number of NonDetect Samples

Number of NonViolative Positives

Samples

Number of 

Violative Samples

Bovine

Beef Cows 800 180 180 -- --

Bob Veal 400 80 77 3 --

Dairy Cows 800 161 158 3 --

Formula-Fed Veal 75 25 25 -- --

Heifers 400 81 80 1 --

Non-Formula-Fed Veal 75 17 17 -- --

Steers 400 90 90 -- --

Porcine

Feral Swine 75 15 15 -- --

Market Swine 800 181 180 -- 1

Roaster Swine 300 86 85 -- 1

Sows 800 192 185 6 1

Poultry

Young Chickens 400 108 104 3 1

Whole Chickens 400 103 101 2 --

Young Turkeys 800 152 151 1 --

Other

Species

Goats 300 90 89 1 --

Lambs 100 24 21 1 2

Mature Sheep 100 28 28 -- --

Siluriformes (Catfish) 650 148 142 -- 6

Egg Products 400 50 47 2 1

Annual Total 8,075 1,811 1,775 23 13

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For raw product, a sample is a representative portion of a meat, poultry, or egg product collected to identify potential microbiological, chemical, or 

pathological hazards.
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 Table 2: FY 2021 Q4 Surveillance Sampling Results by Chemical Method

Animal

Category

Animal

Class

Number of Samples Analyzed per Chemical Method

Aminoglycosides Antifungal 

Dyes Carbadox Metals MRM Nitrofurans Pesticides PFAS Speciation

Bovine

Beef Cows 180 -- -- 19 180 -- 50 -- --

Bob Veal 80 -- -- 33 80 -- 24 -- --

Dairy Cows 161 -- -- 17 161 -- 35 -- --

Formula-Fed Veal 25 -- -- -- 25 -- 1 -- --

Heifers 81 -- -- 34 81 -- 19 -- --

Non- Formula Fed Veal 17 -- -- -- 17 -- 1 -- --

Steers 90 -- -- 39 90 -- 23 -- --

Porcine

Feral Swine -- -- -- -- -- -- 15 -- --

Market Swine 181 -- -- 27 181 -- 94 43 --

Roaster Swine 1 -- 86 -- -- -- -- -- --

Sows 192 -- -- 24 192 -- 116 45 --

Poultry

Young Chickens 108 -- -- 54 108 9 9 -- --

Whole Chickens 103 -- -- -- 103 103 103 97 --

Young Turkeys 152 -- -- 44 152 71 71 -- --

Other

Species

Goats 90 -- -- -- 90 -- 48 -- --

Lambs 24 -- -- -- 24 -- 15 -- --

Mature Sheep 28 -- -- -- 28 -- 17 -- --

Siluriformes (Catfish) -- 53 -- 53 131 78 78 39 70

Egg Products -- -- -- -- 41 -- 50 -- --

Annual Total 1,513 53 86 344 1,684 261 769 224 70
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Table 3. FY 2021 Q4 Surveillance Sampling Residue Violations

List of FY 2021 Surveillance Sampling residue violations (specific compound, concentration, tolerance and regulatory citation) by animal class.

Animal

Class Tissue Compound Concentration Units Tolerance Level Value Authority (CFR Citation)

Egg Products Eggs Piperonyl Butoxide 1.02 ppm 0.100 40 CFR 180.127

Lamb Muscle Piperonyl Butoxide 0.169 ppm 0.100 40 CFR 180.127

Lamb Muscle Piperonyl Butoxide 0.260 ppm 0.100 40 CFR 180.127

Market Swine Muscle Amoxicillin * * * 21 CFR 556.380

Roaster Swine Liver Carbadox 60.0 ppb 30.0 21 CFR 556.100

Siluriformes Muscle Metolachlor * * * 40 CFR 180.368

Siluriformes Muscle Metolachlor * * * 40 CFR 180.368

Siluriformes Muscle Metolachlor * * * 40 CFR 180.368

Siluriformes Muscle Metolachlor * * * 40 CFR 180.368

Siluriformes Muscle Metolachlor * * * 40 CFR 180.368

Siluriformes Muscle Tetraconazole * * * Not Approved/1/

Sow Muscle Piperonyl Butoxide 0.425 ppm 0.100 40 CFR 180.127

Young Chicken Muscle Diclofenac * * * Not Approved/1/

* Violative residue results were detected but not quantified.

/1/Not Approved: the residue detected is not approved for the animal class.

ppb – parts per billion (μg/kg) ppm – parts per million (mg/kg) 
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Inspector-Generated Sampling Plan

FSIS inspectors conduct inspector-generated sampling when they suspect that animals presented for 

slaughter may have violative levels of chemical residues. If an inspector suspects that there is misuse of 

drugs that cannot be detected by the KISTM test, the samples are sent directly to the laboratory for 

appropriate analysis. These samples are reported under the Inspector-Generated program. If an

inspector suspects that there is misuse of drugs that cannot be detected by the KISTM test, the samples 

are sent directly to the laboratory for appropriate analysis. These samples are reported under the 

Collector-Generated program. 

In FY 2021 Q4, of the 39,205 Kidney Inhibition Swab (KISTM) tests conducted on animals selected by FSIS 

(Table 4), 402 samples were submitted to FSIS field laboratories for further analysis. In total, 82 chemical 

residue violations were reported in 77 samples (Table 5). Due to multiple analyses per sample 

submitted, multiple residue violations may be found in the same sample. The predominant violative 

residues in the inspector-generated samples were ceftiofur (27), penicillin (20), and sulfamethazine (7), 

which account for 33%, 24%, and 11% of total violative residues, respectively. 
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Table 4. Summary of FY 2021 Q4 Inspector-Generated Sampling (KISTM) Test and Confirmatory Tests

FY 2021 Q4 summary of in-plant screening tests performed using the KISTM test, number of in-plant screens with negative results, number of 

carcasses sent to FSIS laboratory for confirmation, and the number of carcasses with violations for each animal class. 

Animal Category Animal Class

KIS TM Test 

Total Number of 

In-plant

Carcasses

Number of In-plant

Negative

Carcasses

Number of Samples 

Analyzed in FSIS 

Labs

Number of Samples 

with Confirmed Lab 

Violations 

Bovine

Beef Cows 2,602 2,565 36 10

Bison 1 1 -- --

Bob Veal 4,535 4,515 20 9

Bulls 475 464 11 1

Dairy Cows 21,463 21,194 264 48

Formula-fed Veal 35 34 1 --

Heavy Calves 39 39 -- --

Heifers 1,002 982 18 2

Non-Formula-fed Veal 33 33 -- --

Steers 2,737 2,704 31 4

Porcine

Boar/Stag Swine 15 15 -- --

Market Swine 4,088 4,062 8 --

Roaster Swine 290 289 -- --

Sows 1,134 1,129 5 --

Other Species

Goats 177 175 1 --

Mature Sheep 86 86 -- --

Lambs 493 484 7 3

Annual Total 39,205 38,771 402 77
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Table 5. FY 2021 Q4 Inspector-Generated Sampling Residue Violation Results by Chemical Residue and Animal Class

FY 2021 Q4 summary of chemical residue violations reported within the inspector-generated sampling.

Chemical Residue 

Animal Class

Beef Cow Bob Veal Bulls Dairy Cow Heifer Lamb Steer Annual Total

Ampicillin -- -- -- 1 -- -- -- 1

Desfuroylceftiofur 3 1 -- 20 1 -- 2 27

Florfenicol 1 -- -- 2 -- -- 1 4

Flunixin -- 1 -- 2 -- 1 2 6

Gamithromycin -- -- -- -- -- 1 -- 1

Meloxicam 1 -- -- 3 -- -- -- 4

Neomycin -- 5 -- -- -- -- -- 5

Penicillin 4 1 -- 15 -- -- -- 20

Sulfadimethoxine -- -- -- 6 -- -- -- 6

Sulfamethazine 2 1 1 1 1 1 -- 7

Tilmicosin 1 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1

Annual Total 12 9 1 50 2 3 5 82
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Table 6. Summary of FY 2021 Q4 Collected-Generated Sampling

FY 2021 Q4 summary of suspect animal samples sent directly to FSIS laboratory (collected-generated sampling) for appropriate analysis.

Animal Category Animal Class Number of Non-Detect 

Samples

Number of NonViolative Positives

Samples

Number of Violative 

Samples Total Samples

Bovine

Beef Cow 6 1 1 8

Bob Veal -- -- 2 2

Bull 1 -- -- 1

Dairy Cow 8 1 1 10

Heifer 4 1 -- 5

Steer 2 1 -- 3

Porcine Market Swine 7 -- -- 7

Other Species

Goat 8 2 -- 10

Mature Sheep 1 -- -- 1

Lamb 9 1 -- 10

Young Turkey 1 -- -- 1

Annual Total 47 7 4 58

In addition to the publication of the FY 2021 Sampling Summary NRP results, FSIS posts the details of each positive non-violative, and positive 

violative residue result associated with the NRP sampling program in a spreadsheet format on the FSIS website at: 

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/data-collection-and-reports/chemistry/red-books/redbook

This spreadsheet includes detailed information regarding samples collected and analyzed by FSIS under both the “scheduled” sampling and the 

“inspector-generated” sampling programs. Overall, these data indicate levels of metals in FSIS-regulated product, on average, are relatively low 

and are not likely to cause a human health concern. FSIS plans to update this spreadsheet on an ongoing basis so as to increase program 

transparency for all stakeholders. The spreadsheet includes the following data fields: sample collection and reviewed date, the project code, the 

animal class, tissue type, chemical residue name, concentration values, sample results (whether positive non-violative or positive violative), 

chemical concentration values (if any) and the CFR reference for each chemical listed. 
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Import Residue Sampling

Imported meat, poultry, and egg products are sampled through the point-of-entry Import Reinspection Sampling Plan. This verifies that foreign 

inspection systems in exporting countries are equivalent to U.S. standards. A total of 774 samples were analyzed under this program in FY 2021

Q4. During FY 2021 Q4, there were no violative import samples. The results are summarized in Table 7.

Table 7. Summary of FY 2021 Q4 Residue Sampling of Imported Products

FY 2021 Q4 import residue samples by inspection level and production type.

Product Name and 

Project Code

Analytical 

Method

Normal Increased/1/ Intensified/2/

Number of 

Samples 

Analyzed

Non-Violative 

Positives

Samples

Number of 

Samples 

Analyzed

Non-Violative 

Positives

Samples

Number of 

Samples 

Analyzed

NonViolative 

Positives

Samples

Annual 

Total

Imported Fish ProductsEastern Laboratory

IMPFISH_CH_E

Antifungal Dyes, 

Metals, MRM 207 -- -- -- 15 15 222

Imported Fish ProductsWestern Laboratory

IMPFISH_CH_W

Nitrofurans, 

Pesticides 209 1 -- -- -- -- 209

Imported - Metals

IMPMETALS Metals 131 -- 1 1 -- -- 132

Imported - Pesticide 

IMPPESTICIDE Pesticides 157 -- -- -- 5 5 162

Imported Egg Products -

Chemistry

IMPRESEGG

Pesticides 12 -- -- -- -- -- 12

Imported Fresh Products 

- Residue Eastern Lab 

IMPRESFR_EL

Aminoglycosides, 

MRM -- -- -- -- 2 2 2

Imported Processed 

Products - Residue 

Eastern Lab 

IMPRESPR_EL

Avermectins 22 -- 1 1 -- -- 23
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Product Name and 

Project Code

Analytical 

Method

Normal Increased/1/ Intensified/2/

Number of 

Samples 

Analyzed

Non-Violative 

Positives

Samples

Number of 

Samples 

Analyzed

Non-Violative 

Positives

Samples

Number of 

Samples 

Analyzed

NonViolative 

Positives

Samples

Annual 

Total

Imported Processed 

Products - Residue 

Midwestern Lab 

IMPRESPR_MWL

Sulfonamides 12 -- -- -- -- -- 12

Annual Total 750 1 2 2 22 22 774

/1/Increased is a level of reinspection above the normal level that is directed by a FSIS management decision. Under increased reinspection, FSIS may hold, on a case-by-case 

basis, lots of imported meat, poultry, or egg products pending receipt of a laboratory analysis. If FSIS does not place the product on hold, the importer of record is still required 

to hold product tested for adulterants by FSIS and is not to allow such product to enter commerce unless and until negative results are received. During FY 2021 Q4, there were 

no violative import samples.

/2/Intensified is a level of reinspection that is implemented automatically by the Public Health Information System (PHIS) when a Type of Inspection PHIS task is reported as 

“Fail.” Under intensified reinspection, FSIS holds the sampled lot at the official import inspection establishment pending receipt of laboratory analysis. The sampled lot is not 

allowed to move off-site to be held.