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Some 50,000 turkeys on a West Michigan farm were killed by contaminated feed that may have been sent to more than 100 farms in eight states.
(MLive file)
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A federal investigation has been underway for months to determine what actions led to the poisoning death of 50,000 turkeys on a West Michigan farm last August. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said "extraordinary steps" assured no tainted meat from Michigan ever reached market.
The recent revelation of the incident to Michigan agriculture commissioners may have raised as many questions as it answered about how contaminated feed came to be fed to the turkeys, as well as at least 20,000 hogs on the same Michigan farm, and how more than 100 farms in eight states received the contaminated feed.
The details of what went wrong, and how far-reaching the problem may be, have not yet been explained by the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture, the lead agencies investigating the matter.
"This event is still under investigation, so we are limited in what information we can provide," FDA spokesperson Juli Putnam said in a prepared statement Monday, Feb. 9. "Here's what we can share at this time: The turkeys ... that were exposed to feed contaminated with Lascadoil died before they made it to market, and exposed hogs were subjected to the recommended 28-day withdrawal period before going to slaughter."
In general, the FDA regulates animal drugs, animal feeds, and foods produced by animals. USDA plays a lead role in regulating aspects of some meat, poultry, and egg products, according to the statement.
In what State Veterinarian James Averill said was the first public acknowledgement of the incident, state scientists at the Jan. 21 meeting of the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development outlined the quick actions taken to keep consumers safe and contain the incident.
Rick Sietsema, one of the owners of Sietsema Farms of Allendale, a network of family-owned farms, told the Kalamazoo Gazette that entire flocks of turkeys at five of the farm's locations died on the same weekend, before any of the birds went to market.
Sietsema said he, the farm's veterinarian and employees worked around the clock that weekend, collecting samples of dead birds and feed for analysis. At 5:30 a.m. Monday, Aug.11 they headed to Lansing with the samples, and notified the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Because feed was the only common denominator between the birds, a feed problem was the prime suspect, Averill and April Hunt, with the MDARD's Pesticide and Pest Management Division, told commissioners. Other state and federal agencies were called in, and a rapid emergency response initiated, Brad Deacon, MDARD emergency management coordinator, told the Gazette.
Hogs on the farm had eaten similar feed were held off the market for 28 days, even though no trace of contamination was found in meat samples later submitted for testing, according to Sietsema.
The only other hogs moved from the farm during the investigation period were fed a finishing ration at out-of-state farms, from a different feed source, Sietsema said.
Averill said he was not sure whether meat from those animals that left the state was ever tested after slaughter for presence of the drug. Nor was he aware of the status of the investigation outside of Michigan.
Deacon and MDARD Director of Communications Jennifer Holton said until the investigation is finished, they cannot connect the dots between what happened in Michigan and how it fits into the larger investigation. "As soon as we are able," a detailed report will be issued, Holton said.
Sietsema said he is anxious to learn from federal investigators exactly how tainted grease intended for industrial uses was instead shipped to his farm as a feed additive.
"We expect a product that comes to us to meet the specs that the FDA has set up," he said. "It is frustrating."
The USDA would not speak about the incident on the record and referred questions about the investigation to the FDA.
Averill said he is not privy to many of the details of the federal investigation; Michigan agriculture officials were not allowed by federal investigators to reveal anything about the incident until his briefing to commissioners last month.
Meanwhile, Sietsema said the loss to his family farm has hit more than $1 million, and that there is no insurance coverage for incidents such as this. Until the FDA, USDA and MDARD issue their final reports, he said, he does not know whether it will be possible to seek compensation from the company that supplied the contaminated oil.
The timeline
Lasalocid is a drug approved for use in feed for poultry to combat parasites, and in cattle and sheep to help them gain weight faster. The safe level for turkeys is 68-113 grams per ton; levels found in the dead turkeys was much higher than that. The drug is not used in pork production; samples of the hog feed found as much as 1,510 grams per ton, when there should have been none at all.
That finding, and the farm's own records, helped confirm that the mistake was not one of the farm simply mixing the turkey ration incorrectly, Averill said.
Instead, it appears that industrial processing waste oil used in the manufacture of Lasalocid and intended for use as a component of biofuel was instead used as an ingredient in animal feed.
The quantity of tainted oil was not disclosed, nor its origin.
Sietsema said that after the contamination was discovered, workers removed 450 tons of contaminated feed and thoroughly cleaned the entire grain storage operation.
Analysis of 25 different feed ingredients in the problem feed, including oil and grease used in the feed mix for flavor and content, Hunt said, led researchers to determine the contaminated material was in what was supposed to be restaurant grease, which should not contain drug residue. The source was traced to a Michigan grease processor, which had shipped contaminated grease to 13 locations in four states, Averill said. MDARD issued a stop-sale order.
Deacon said no details about that processor or the shipments could yet be released.
Averill said the shipment of industrial waste as feed-grade oil was apparently due to a paperwork mix-up. The FDA continued to trace the source of the grease, and eventually issued a news release explaining that industrial processing waste oil "Lascadoil intended for commercial use (biofuels) may have crossed over into the feed ingredient stream."
Details of what the FDA's trace-back revealed were not immediately available, but Averill said that on Oct. 23 an Ohio company issued a voluntary national recall due to the "death of turkeys" including a "load sold on or before Sept. 17, 2014 with a geographic distribution of the United States." No quantity or source was specified.
Deacon said he believed the Ohio recall was "as far as we know" part of the same single incident.
As of Oct. 23, "the company has received adverse event reports or product complaints attributable to the levels of Lasalocid sodium in the oil," the recall notice states. "This may be harmful to poultry or livestock."
On Nov. 12 the Michigan grease supplier signed consent agreement with MDARD. The details have not been disclosed.
Wendy Banka of the Michigan Small Farm Council, who was present at the Jan. 21 state agriculture commission meeting, said she had many concerns. Among them, she said: "Where did the contaminant come from, when did it enter our food supply, and how far did it go? Why was the public not notified immediately when 50,000 turkeys died on a single farm?"
Averill said MDARD "wanted to brief our commissioners on the incident and the response that the department made, but we had to wait until certain parts of the federal investigation were done. We had to hold off on that until we were given permission by the federal government, the FDA being the driver of it."
Those questions may be answered when the investigation is finished.
"The two agencies have worked very closely with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) on this investigation," the FDA statement said. "Based on this work and the federal agencies' recommendation, MDARD took extraordinary steps to ensure that animals potentially exposed to Lascadoil did not enter the food supply."