Fenvalerate residues in milk following topical treatments to dairy cows

Two mature Holstein cows were treated with 0.1g of fenvalerate each, in six consecutive topical treatments at intervals of 3 or 4 days. Neither of the diastereoisomers of fenvalerate was detected in the milk 6h after the application. After 3 days, the mean fenvalerate residue was 0.46μg litre−1; by day 4, this residue had declined below the detection limit of 0.1μg litre−1 for each of the diastereoisomers. Two Holstein cows were also treated with 0.5g of fenvalerate per cow in three consecutive topical treatments at intervals of 14 days. Residues in whole milk were at a maximum 6h after treatment and declined to less than 0.2μg litre−1 over 21 days. Only 0.03 to 0.06% of the applied fenvalerate appeared in the milk as the intact insecticide.