New Zealand Food Safety has banned the sale of two commonly used animal boluses and announced a full investigation into all anthelmintic slow-release ruminal boluses.
It has banned the sale of Bionic Plus and Bionic Plus Hogget, and all 13 boluses registered for use in sheep and three for cattle will be reassessed.
The banning of Bionic Plus and Bionic Plus Hogget follows an incident last year when sub-therapeutic levels of their active ingredients were being released, leading to concerns about the degree of parasite control and the need to extend the product’s withholding period to ensure residues in food remain below maximum allowed levels.
A definitive cause for the altered release has not yet been determined.
“New Zealand Food Safety is therefore taking the step to prohibit the sale and use of these two products while the reassessment is progressing due to concerns that they may pose a risk to animal welfare and trade,” it said.
Two further products, Toby and Half Toby, are included in this prohibition given they are similar to Bionic Plus and Bionic Plus Hogget, but these are not currently marketed.
This prohibition means all product in veterinary clinics and retail stores must be removed from retail sale areas and securely stored and any product on farms must not be administered to sheep in the coming season.
