Guideline / position statementindependent cross-checkfull text checked I-CHK-119 standard review
US: hormone implants allowed in beef cattle, not in poultry
FDA: Steroid Hormone Implants Used for Growth in Food-Producing Animals (content current as of 24 October 2024)
Overview
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA web page 2024
FDA approves hormone implants for beef cattle and sheep, but none for poultry or pigs.
Does the study support the specific claim? Yes · Methodological quality: high
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
For which food-producing animals are steroid hormone growth implants approved in the USA?
- How was the study done?
Regulatory agency information page
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
not applicable
- What was actually found?
FDA 'has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep', including natural estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and synthetic versions such as trenbolone acetate and zeranol. 'No steroid hormone implants are approved for growth purposes in dairy cows, veal calves, pigs, or poultry.' FDA sets acceptable safe limits for hormones in meat.
- How large was the observed effect?
FDA 'has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep', including natural estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and synthetic versions such as trenbolone acetate and zeranol. 'No steroid hormone implants are approved for growth purposes in dairy cows, veal calves, pigs, or poultry.' FDA sets acceptable safe limits for hormones in meat.
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Hormones are a real practice in US beef, but not in chicken.
- What are the study's limitations?
US-specific
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Supports the broiler statement; partly supports hormone use in cattle (other countries).
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
EU bans hormonal growth promoters (Directive 96/22/EC, I-RES-02).
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Says nothing about illegal use in other countries.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Journal
- FDA web page
- Year
- 2024
- Identifier
- Verification
- verified – WebFetch of FDA page 2026-10-26
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- full text
- Conflicts of interest and funding
not stated in abstract
2. Research question
For which food-producing animals are steroid hormone growth implants approved in the USA?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Guideline / position statement – Regulatory agency information page
- Population
US food-producing animals
- Country
USA
- Period
2024
- Sample size
not applicable
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
as described in the abstract
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
Steroid hormone implants
- Comparator
not applicable
- Endpoints
Approval status by species
- Statistical methods
as reported in the abstract
5. Actual results
- Results
FDA 'has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep', including natural estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and synthetic versions such as trenbolone acetate and zeranol. 'No steroid hormone implants are approved for growth purposes in dairy cows, veal calves, pigs, or poultry.' FDA sets acceptable safe limits for hormones in meat.
- Absolute risks
not reported
- Authors' conclusion
Hormone implants are approved for beef cattle and sheep only; not for poultry.
6. Strengths
- Primary regulatory source
7. Weaknesses
- US-specific
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- none applicable
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- not assessable
- Rationale
Regulatory text.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
Not applicable.
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Primary regulatory source on hormone use in poultry and cattle.
11. Independent contrary findings
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
13. Overall methodological judgement
FDA approves hormone implants for beef cattle and sheep, but none for poultry or pigs.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | high |
| Risk of bias | low |
| Precision of results | not applicable |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | unknown |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | consistent |
| Regional transferability | low |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
15. Linked fact checks
- Broiler chickens are not injected with hormones; the common belief about 'hormonised chicken' is wrong - the real issue is antibiotics in feed. – Studies supporting the claim
- Beef cattle are injected with hormones (testosterone/androgens, 'Boldex' - presumably boldenone) and antibiotics to fatten them, so the meat is 'injected'. – Studies supporting the claim