Summary of Test Results
- Three veterinary drugs and hormones were found in ten fast food samples tested.
- One sample from Chick-fil-A contained a contraceptive and antiparasitic called Nicarbazin, which has been prohibited.
- Six out of ten, or 60%, of the fast food samples contained antibiotic Monesin, which is not approved by the FDA for human use and has been shown to cause severe harm when consumed by humans.
- Four out of ten, 40% of the samples contained antibiotic Narasin, which has been shown, in animal studies, to cause anorexia, diarrhea, dyspnea, depression, ataxia, recumbency, and death and pathologically by degeneration, necrosis, and repair of heart and skeletal muscles.
- Monensin and Narasin are antibiotic Ionophores; toxic to horses and dogs at extremely low levels, leaving their hind legs dysfunctional.
- Ionophores cause weight gain in beef and dairy cattle and are therefore widely used but also “cause acute cardiac rhabdomyocyte degeneration and necrosis.”
- For many years, ionophores have also been used to control coccidiosis in poultry. However, misuse of ionophores can cause toxicity with significant clinical symptoms. Studies show that ionophore toxicity mainly affects myocardial and skeletal muscle cells.
- Only Chipotle and Subway had no detectable levels of veterinary drugs and hormones.