USDA uses new pork antibiotics testing method

Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service are using a new type of testing on pork to check for excessive levels of antibiotics.
The method, already used on beef, can detect smaller levels of many antibiotics, including penicillin and amoxicillin, according to reports. The agency is using “more advanced science to better detect these residues and better protect the public,” said Dirk Fillpot, a spokesman for the FSIS. The new test can detect penicillin at a level of 30 parts per billion in an animal’s kidney, compared to 800 parts per billion with the old test.