The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strict label regulations surrounding the use of growth-promoting implants designed to prevent hormone residues in beef and maximize the efficacy of each product available to beef producers.Jessica Sperber, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Growth hormones in the beef industry continue to be one of the most debated and often misunderstood production tools available to producers. The first commercial hormone implant was introduced in 1957, and since then, the use of implants in beef production has been widely adopted.
“From their beginning implants and feed additives had to go through rigorous testing to ensure they were safe for use in cattle and would not harm humans,” said Tera Felix, Extension beef specialist, Penn State University. “To meet the FDA criteria there cannot be any hormone residue in edible tissue.”
In addition, the FDA specifies that implants and feed additives must be efficacious—they must do what the label claims, i.e., improve average daily gain and feed efficiency.
“In the modern beef industry it is fairly common for cattle to receive three or more implants during their lifetime,” said Paul Beck, professor of animal and food sciences, Oklahoma State University. In the Southern Great Plains region (Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas) a survey of stocker cattle operations indicated 77% of stocker calves are implanted.
“For producers who operate in only one segment of the industry the implant decision is simple,” explained Beck. “However, for producers who retain ownership of an animal through two or more phases and market cattle on a carcass merit price grid implant decisions become more complex.”
Beef can be, and commonly is, produced under claims such as “no added hormones administered” (officially Non Hormones Treated Cattle-NHTC) or “raised without added hormones.”
Beck said it’s important for consumers to know that beef products from non-implanted cattle are marketed with those label claims after approval by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Producers must provide sufficient documentation showing no added hormones were used throughout the production chain.
