Bel Marra Health supports a recent study that reports a banned antibiotic has been found in grocery store chickens.

(prHWY.com) April 23, 2012 - Pine Valley, NY -- Bel Marra Health, well known for offering high-quality, specially formulated vitamins and nutritional supplements, supports a recent study that reports a banned antibiotic has been found in grocery store chickens.

Fluoroquinolones is a broad spectrum antibiotic reserved for the treatment of severe bacterial infections and preventing the bacteria from causing permanent bodily damage. It is a powerful drug and one of the few antibiotics that the human immune system has not yet built-up a resistance to. In attempt to preserve the efficacy of the Fluoroquinolones, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned its use in livestock's, in 2005. Despite this ban, a recent study published in the March 21st edition of Environmental Science & Technology Journal reveals that these antibiotics are still widely in use by the poultry industry.

The study was recently conducted by researchers at Arizona State University and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers examined feather meal, acquired from six U.S. states, as well as from China. Feather meal is made from poultry feathers and examining them allowed the scientists to decipher which drugs the poultry may have been given before their slaughter.

All of the 12 samples which were tested contained between 2 and 10 antimicrobials, amongst other harmful residues such as acetaminophen, caffeine and the prescription antidepressant Prozac. What's more 8 out of the 12 samples contained fluoroquinolones and according to the lead researcher, David Love, PhD, "The discovery of certain antibiotics in feather meal strongly suggests the continued use of these drugs, despite the ban put in place in 2005 by the FDA."

Dr. Victor Marchione, Spokesperson for Bel Marra Health says, "this is extremely dangerous because humans may very well become resistant to this important antibiotic through continuous consumption of poultry and will thereby be rendered powerless to the damage caused by bacterial infections."
The FDA requested voluntary action to be taken amongst livestock producers. However, the researchers of this study are skeptical that the industry will take any action at all. "A high enough concentration was found in one of the samples to select for bacteria that are resistant to drugs important to treat infections in humans," states the study coauthor Keeve Nachman, PhD. This is quite serious and "we have very little confidence that the food animal production industry can be left to regulate it-self. We strongly believe that the FDA should monitor what drugs are going into animal feed."

(SOURCE: "Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future", CLF Researchers Find Evidence of Banned Antibiotics in Poultry Products, March, 2012)

Bel Marra Health offers high-quality vitamins and nutritional supplements in formulations designed to address specific health concerns. All ingredients are backed with scientific evidence. Every product is tested for safety, quality, and purity at every stage of the manufacturing process. Furthermore, Bel Marra Health products are produced only in Health Canada approved facilities, going that extra mile to ensure our health conscious customers are getting top quality products. For more information on Bel Marra Health visit http://www.belmarrahealth.com or call 1-866-531-0466.

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