New FDA technique could impact ethanol industry

Controversy over potential antibiotic residues in Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) has led to the development of a technique that could impact the ethanol industry. This multi-residue analytical technique, described in an article published in the Journal of Chromatography by Dr. Hemakanthi DeAlwis and Dr. David Heller of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, Office of Research, is designed to detect up to 13 antibiotics in DDGS.
The FDA is expected to start a surveillance program for DDGS. The ethanol industry is said to have relied extensively on antibiotics to suppress lactobacillus bacteria. But with surveillance, ethanol producers may be more selective in using antibiotics and to adopt cleaning procedures accepted for distilling liquor for human consumption.