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FARAD Launches Mobile-Friendly Site for Tracking Food Animal Drugs

The Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) released a new, mobile-friendly site— VetGRAM —this past December that provides information on currently approved drugs and assists food animal veterinarians and producers with mitigating the risk of contaminants from entering the food supply. The site, which works on all smartphones, iPads and other mobile devices, is also scheduled to be released as a free android mobile app sometime in March after it completes final testing and evaluation.

“One of FARAD’s core missions is to prevent or mitigate the risk of harmful drug or chemical residues in human foods that are derived from animal sources,” said Dr. Thomas Vickroy, professor of pharmacology at the University of Florida-College of Veterinary Medicine. “In line with this mission, FARAD will continue to develop mobile apps and other tools that will enhance the availability of accurate and timely information for veterinarians and others who work to support our nation’s critical food animal industries.”

The mobile-friendly site provides instant access to required drug withdrawal times and tolerance limits for all drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in major food animal species. To use the mobile-friendly site, users must have access to an Internet connection.

The VetGRAM app, once released, will store any data downloaded to the phone locally, which will provide users with access to the information even in remote areas where there is limited or no Internet connectivity. The app will initially be android-based, but pending how well it is received, FARAD hopes to develop an iPhone app at some point in the future. FARAD is a congressionally-mandated risk management program that is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and maintained by a consortium of universities. For more information on the program or VetGRAM, visit FARAD’s website.

Source: AVMA, February 13, 2013 By: Victoria Barq, Communications Manager GRD