Sales of antimicrobials for use in livestock are second lowest in a decade, says FDA
Drugmakers sold 24 million pounds of antimicrobials for use in food-bearing animals last year, a slight decline from the previous year and the second-lowest total in a decade, said the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. Sales have declined sharply since the FDA shut down using the drugs to encourage weight gain in cattle, hogs, chickens, and turkeys.
Global declaration calls for lower use of antimicrobials in agriculture
Nearly 200 United Nations member states, warned of the rising health threat of drug-resistant pathogens, approved a declaration on Thursday to step up their work to preserve the efficacy of disease-fighting medicines, reduce the death toll from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by 10 percent, and “meaningfully reduce” antimicrobial use in agriculture by 2030.
Drugs often used on livestock despite ‘raised without antibiotics’ label
Federal researchers found drug residues in one of every five cattle marketed as “raised without antibiotics” in samples collected last fall, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. The findings “underscore the need for more rigorous substantiation of such claims,” it said, in “strongly” encouraging — but not requiring — meat processors to routinely test for residues if they put a “no antibiotics ever” label on their meat.
Sales of antibiotics for food animals up again, reports FDA
Drugmakers sold 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics for use in cattle, hogs, and poultry last year, up 4 percent from 2021 and the second increase in two years, said the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday.
USDA asks, is it really antibiotic-free, raised humanely?
Two USDA agencies will begin a sampling project to see if there are antibiotic residues in beef marketed as “raised without antibiotics,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. The USDA’s food safety agency will also issue a guideline recommending that companies produce more proof when they want to use a label that says animals were raised under specific conditions.
End of OTC sale of medically important antibiotics for use in livestock
Beginning this week, livestock owners will need a prescription from a veterinarian before they can buy medically important antibiotics for use on their animals, announced the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. The new restriction is part of a multiyear campaign to preserve the efficacy of the antimicrobials in treating disease in humans.
A plateau in sales of antibiotics for livestock after steep decline
Following the FDA ban on use of medically important antibiotics to encourage weight gain in hogs, cattle and poultry, sales of the drugs are averaging 6.1 million kilograms (13.4 million pounds) a year, a decline of 37 percent from their 2015 peak.
Fewer over-the-counter antibiotics for livestock
Drugmakers will have two years to change the sales availability of some medically important livestock antimicrobials to prescription-only, said the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. The shift from over-the-counter sales would mean the drugs can be used only under veterinary supervision.
FDA: Coronavirus disrupts supply chain for U.S. animal drugs
Six firms are seeing disruptions in the supply chain because of Covid-19 that could lead to shortages of animal drugs for the U.S. market, said the FDA in an update. Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said USDA animal scientists are "looking for any kind of possibility, even vaccines, that may help" against the viral disease.
FDA will strengthen controls over antibiotics in livestock, says Gottlieb
In the first days of 2017, the FDA instituted long-sought controls over farm use of antibiotics, with a ban on use of medically important antibiotics as a growth promoter in cattle, hogs and poultry. FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the next two steps in promoting antimicrobial …
USDA chief scientist slams WHO antibiotic recommendations
The USDA’s acting chief scientist, Chavonda Jacobs-Young, has publicly criticized the World Health Organization’s updated recommendations for curbing antibiotic use on farms, citing poor science.
Sales of antibiotics for livestock drop for the first time, FDA data show
The amount of antibiotics sold for use in livestock in the United States has dropped for the first time since data collection began, according to FDA numbers. The data also show for the first time which types of meat animals are receiving the most antibiotics. (No paywall)
WHO urges drastic cuts in use of antibiotics in agriculture and aquaculture
In a major new statement about the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture, the World Health Organization is urging livestock agriculture and fish farming worldwide to sharply cut antibiotic use, reserving the precious drugs for animals that are sick and then choosing only antibiotics that are not important to human medicine. (No paywall)
More samples of salmonella in humans show resistance to multiple types of antibiotics
Federal researchers say multi-drug resistance has increased to 12 percent of salmonella bacteria found in the digestive systems of ill people, up from 9 percent in the previous year. Salmonella is a common type of food-borne illness estimated to affect 1 million Americans annually and to cause 380 deaths a year.
‘Big Chicken’ shows government regulators were slow to act on ABX resistance
Antibiotic-resistant infections — everything from gastrointestinal illnesses to recurring urinary tract infections and staph — are among the most menacing issues in public health today, sickening 2 million people a year and killing at least 23,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So perhaps it’s not surprising that government has begun to take steps to limit antibiotics in animal agriculture, where many of these infections arise, before they wreak further havoc in humans.
San Francisco grocers may have to disclose antibiotics used in meats they sell
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to vote next Tuesday on an ordinance that would require large grocers in the city to report on antibiotics used in producing the meat they sell, says the San Francisco Examiner. The information would be made public in an effort “to use the power of the consumer to force marketplace change.”
More chain restaurants say ‘no antibiotics in chicken,’ not so fast on beef and pork
Fourteen of the top 25 restaurant chains in the United States are telling farmers to restrict the routine use of antibiotics in chickens, compared with nine a year ago, according to the annual Chain Reaction report. “While restaurant chains made great progress on chicken, the groups found that there were no new commitments to limit antibiotic use in beef and pork.”
Report: Many options for replacing antibiotics in meat supply, but is demand high?
Since the FDA began moving three years ago to control antibiotic use in meat animals — an effort that culminated in January with a ban on growth-promoter antibiotics, which fatten livestock inexpensively — farmers have wondered whether anything can take the drugs’ place.