Question & AnswerQ&A (BAI ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 13)
The primary objective is to govern the strict monitoring and surveillance of banned, misbranded, counterfeit, unregistered, unsafe, unlabelled, tampered, and/or altered veterinary and beta-agonist drugs, the presence of mycotoxins in feeds, and to enforce the rational use of prescription or ethical veterinary drugs in livestock, poultry, and aquaculture production to protect human life and health.
Chloramphenicol, Carbadox, Olaquindox, and Nitrofurans are among the veterinary drugs explicitly banned for use in food animals such as livestock, poultry, and aquaculture production.
Chloramphenicol is banned because its use may lead to residue buildup in animal tissues which can cause aplastic anemia and/or antibiotic resistance in humans when ingested, given its important role as an antibiotic for life-threatening infections in humans.
Beta-agonist drugs such as Clenbuterol, Salbutamol, Terbutalin, and Pirbuterol are typically used as tocolytic agents in humans but have been banned in food animals because of unestablished safety profiles and their use as lean meat-enhancing agents through body fat reduction.
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by molds or fungi, such as aflatoxin, ochratoxin, zearalenone, fumonisin, and vomitoxin. They are potent liver toxins and carcinogens that cause liver damage and tumors in animals, potentially leading to animal death and economic losses. They can also enter the human food chain through contaminated animal products.
Mycotoxins may enter the food chain through contaminated feeds ingested by animals and can be carried over to milk or edible animal tissues, thereby posing harmful effects to humans.
The Order requires monitoring and surveillance of banned, misbranded, counterfeit, unregistered, unsafe, unlabelled, tampered, and/or altered veterinary and beta-agonist drugs, as well as the presence of mycotoxins in animal feeds.
The Order took effect immediately upon approval and supersedes all other orders inconsistent with its provisions.