National Residue Program Quarterly Report (Jan–Mar 2021) 

National Residue Program 

In FY 2021 Q2, eight 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 2,026 samples analyzed by FSIS (1,973 from U.S. Federal plants and 53 

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 2,026 samples collected under the 

surveillance sampling plan. 

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Table 1: Summary of FY 2021 Q2 Surveillance Sampling Results 

Number of Samples Analyzed this Quarter Total Number of Animal Number of Non- Animal Class Samples Planned for FY Total Number of Non- Number of Category Violative Positives 2021 Samples 1 Detect Samples Violative Samples Samples 

Bovine 

Beef Cows 800 226 226 -- --

Bob Veal 400 83 82 1 --

Dairy Cows 800 227 223 2 2 

Formula-Fed Veal 75 16 16 -- --

Heifers 400 117 108 7 2 

Non-Formula-Fed Veal 75 14 13 1 --

Steers 400 120 110 10 --

Feral Swine 75 16 16 -- --

Porcine Market Swine 800 215 215 -- --

Roaster Swine 300 76 76 -- --

Sows 800 182 182 -- --

Young Chickens 400 107 105 2 --

Poultry Whole Chickens 400 99 98 1 --

Young Turkeys 800 232 232 -- --

Goats 300 72 71 -- 1 

Other 

Species 

Lambs 100 23 23 -- --

Mature Sheep 100 26 26 -- --

Siluriformes(Catfish) 650 125 123 2 --

Egg Products 400 50 50 -- --

Annual Total 8,075 2,026 1,995 26 5 

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

pathological hazards. 

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Table 2: FY 2021 Q2 Surveillance Sampling Results by Chemical Method 

Number of Samples Analyzed per Chemical Method 

Animal Animal 

Category Class Carbadox Metals MRM Nitrofurans Pesticides PFAS 

Dyes Aminoglycosides Antifungal 

Bovine 

Beef Cows 226 -- -- 34 226 -- 117 --

Bob Veal 83 -- -- 20 83 -- 52 --

Dairy Cows 227 -- -- 34 227 -- 122 --

Formula-Fed Veal 16 -- -- 1 16 -- -- --

Heifers 117 -- -- 22 117 -- 68 --

Non- Formula Fed Veal 14 -- -- -- 14 -- -- --

Steers 120 -- -- 22 120 -- 74 --

Porcine 

Feral Swine -- -- -- -- -- -- 16 --

Market Swine 214 -- -- 32 215 -- 114 27 

Roaster Swine -- -- 76 -- -- -- -- --

Sows 181 -- -- 22 182 -- 98 23 

Poultry 

Young Chickens 107 -- -- 34 107 4 4 --

Whole Chickens 99 -- -- -- 99 99 99 93 

Young Turkeys 232 -- -- 34 232 126 126 --

Other 

Species 

Goats 72 -- -- -- 72 -- 45 --

Lambs 23 -- -- -- 23 -- 21 --

Mature Sheep 26 -- -- -- 26 -- 13 --

Siluriformes (Catfish) -- 59 -- 59 125 66 66 37 

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

 

 

Annual Total 1,757 59 76 314 1,934 295 1,085 180 

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Table 3. FY 2021 Q2 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) 

Dairy Cow 

Dairy Cow 

Goat 

Heifer 

Heifer 

Kidney 

Muscle 

Muscle 

Liver 

Muscle 

Penicillin 

Salbutamol 

Moxidectin 

Ractopamine 

Diclofenac 

0.306 

* 

32.6 

0.113 

* 

ppm 

* 

ppb 

ppm 

* 

0.05 

* 

0 

0.09 

* 

21 CFR 556.510 

Not Approved/1/ 

Not Approved/1/ 

21 CFR 556.570 

Not Approved/1/ 

* Violative residue results were detected but not quantified. 

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

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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 Q2, of the 32,738 Kidney Inhibition Swab (KISTM) tests conducted on animals selected by FSIS 

(Table 4), 576 samples were submitted to FSIS field laboratories for further analysis. In total, 146 

chemical residue violations were reported in 107 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 (39), penicillin (27), and 

sulfamethazine (15), which account for 27%, 18%, and 10% of total violative residues, respectively. 

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Table 4. Summary of FY 2021 Q2 Inspector-Generated Sampling (KISTM) Test and Confirmatory Tests 

FY 2021 Q2 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. 

KIS TM Test 

Animal Category Animal Class Total Number of 

In-plant 

Number of In-plant 

Negative 

Number of Samples 

Analyzed in FSIS 

Number of Samples 

with Confirmed Lab 

Carcasses Carcasses Labs Violations 

Bovine 

Beef Cows 2,359 2,295 69 11 

Bob Veal 6,303 6,264 39 11 

Bulls 330 320 10 0 

Dairy Cows 16,779 16,421 365 73 

Heavy Calves 70 54 16 2 

Formula-fed Veal 49 49 0 0 

Heifers 1,123 1,095 27 5 

Non-Formula-fed Veal 42 39 2 0 

Steers 1,872 1,846 26 2 

Boar/Stag Swine 15 15 0 0 

Porcine Market Swine 2,270 2,257 11 0 

Roaster Swine 274 274 0 0 

Sows 909 902 7 1 

Goats 105 104 1 1 

Other Species Mature Sheep 60 57 3 1 

Lambs 178 178 0 0 

Annual Total 32,738 32,170 576 107 

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Table 5. FY 2021 Q2 Inspector-Generated Sampling Residue Violation Resultsby Chemical Residue and Animal Class 

FY 2021 Q2 summary of chemical residue violations reported within the inspector-generated sampling. 

Animal Class 

Chemical Residue 

Beef Cow Bob Veal Dairy Cow Goat Heavy Calf Heifer Mature Sheep Sow Steer Annual Total 

Ampicillin -- -- 1 -- -- 1 -- -- -- 2 

Butorphanol 1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 

Ciprofloxacin 1 2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 

Desfuroylceftiofur -- 2 35 -- -- 2 -- -- -- 39 

Dihydrostreptomycin -- -- 1 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 

Enrofloxacin -- 2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2 

Eprinomectin -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 -- -- 1 

Florfenicol -- -- 4 -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 

Flunixin 3 -- 7 -- -- -- -- -- -- 10 

Gentamycin Sulfate 2 -- -- -- -- 2 -- -- -- 4 

Meloxicam -- 1 4 -- -- -- -- -- -- 5 

Neomycin -- 5 -- -- 1 -- -- -- -- 6 

Oxytetracycline 1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 

Penicillin 3 -- 22 -- 1 -- -- 1 -- 27 

Spectinomycin -- -- -- 2 -- -- -- -- -- 2 

Sulfadimethoxine 2 1 7 -- -- -- -- -- -- 10 

Sulfadoxine -- -- 1 -- -- -- -- 1 -- 2 

Sulfamethazine 6 -- 6 -- -- 1 -- -- 2 15 

Sulfamethoxazole -- 3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 

Sulfamethoxypyridazine -- -- 1 -- -- -- -- -- 1 2 

Sulfathiazole -- 3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 

Tetracycline -- -- -- 1 -- -- -- -- --

Tilmicosin 2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2 

Annual Total 21 19 89 3 2 6 1 2 3 146 

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Table 6. Summary of FY 2021 Q2 Collected-Generated Sampling 

FY 2021 Q2 summary of suspect animal samples sent directly to FSIS laboratory (collected-generated sampling) for appropriate analysis. 

Number of Non- Number of Non-Detect Number of Violative Animal Category Animal Class Violative Positives Total Samples Samples Samples Samples 

Bovine 

Beef Cow 1 -- -- 1 

Bob Veal 1 -- -- 1 

Dairy Cow 14 -- -- 14 

Heifer 3 1 -- 4 

Non-Formula-fed Veal 1 -- -- 1 

Porcine Steer 4 1 -- 5 

Market Swine 3 -- -- 3 

Poultry Sow 3 -- -- 3 

Annual Total 30 2 0 32 

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 927 samples were analyzed under this program in FY 2021 

Q2, of which four samples were violative. Those violative samples originated from the following countries: The People's Republic of China and 

Mexico. The results are summarized in Table 7. 

Table 7. Summary of FY 2021 Q2 Residue Sampling of Imported Products 

FY 2021 Q2 import residue samples by inspection level and production type. 

Normal Increased/1/ Intensified/2/ 

Product Name and Analytical Number of Non-Violative Number of 

Samples 

Analyzed 

Non-Violative Number of Non-Violative Violative Violative Annual Project Code Method Samples Positives Positives Samples Positives Samples Samples Total Analyzed Samples Samples Analyzed Samples 

Imported Fish Products- Antifungal Dyes, Eastern Laboratory 236 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 236 Metals, MRM IMPFISH_CH_E 

Imported Fish ProductsWestern Laboratory 

IMPFISH_CH_W 

Nitrofurans, 

Pesticides 236 -- 1 -- -- 10 1 2 246 

Imported - Metals 

IMPMETALS Metals 78 -- -- 2 -- -- -- -- 80 

Imported - Pesticide 

IMPPESTICIDE Pesticides 111 -- -- -- -- 1 -- 112 

Imported Egg Products -

Chemistry 

IMPRESEGG 

Pesticides 13 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 13 

Imported FreshProducts 

- Residue Eastern Lab 

IMPRESFR_EL 

Aminoglycosides, 

MRM 113 -- - -- -- 2 -- -- 115 

Imported Fresh Products 

- Residue Western Lab 

IMPRESFR_WL 

Aminoglycosides, 

MRM, 

Nitrofurans 

101 3 1 -- -- 2 -- -- 103 

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Normal Increased/1/ Intensified/2/ 

Product Name and Analytical Number of Non-Violative Violative Project Code Method Samples Positives Samples Analyzed Samples 

Number of 

Samples 

Analyzed 

Non-Violative Number of Non-Violative Violative Annual Positives Samples Positives Samples Total Samples Analyzed Samples 

Imported Processed 

Products - Residue Avermectins 12 -- -- 2 -- -- -- -- 14 Eastern Lab 

IMPRESPR_EL 

Imported Processed 

Products - Residue Sulfonamides 8 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 8 Midwestern Lab 

IMPRESPR_MWL 

Annual Total 908 3 3 4 0 15 1 2 927 

/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 Q2, there were 

no violative samples at increased level of inspection. 

/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. 

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Table 8. FY 2021 Q2 Import Residue Sampling Violations by Foreign Country/Animal Class 

List of FY 2021 Q2 import residue sampling violations (foreign country, specific compound, concentration, tolerance, and regulatory citation) by 

animal class. 

Foreign Country Animal Class Compound Concentrations Units Tolerance Level 

Value 

Authority (CFR 

Citations) 

The People's 

Republic of China Siluriformes Nitrofurazone * * * Not Approved/1/ 

The People's 

Republic of China Siluriformes Nitrofurazone * * * Not Approved/1/ 

The People's Not Approved/1/ Siluriformes Nitrofurazone * * * Republic of China 

Dipyrone * * * Not Approved/1/ 

Mexico Beef 

Phenylbutazone * * * 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) 

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