antibiotics
California is first state to regulate antibiotics in livestock
Overuse of antibiotics in livestock is "an urgent public health problem," Gov Jerry Brown said in signing a law that makes California the first state to regulate antimicrobials administered to food animals. The new law is stricter than FDA's ongoing phase-out of medically important antibiotics to promote weight gain by cattle, hogs and poultry but won’t come into play as soon. "The science is clear that the overuse of antibiotics in livestock has contributed to the spread of antibiotic resistance and the undermining of decades of life-saving advances in medicine," Brown said. "SB 27 addresses an urgent public health problem."
Feds outline how to track antibiotic use on farms
FDA and USDA officials sketched an multi-pronged approach to track antibiotic use on cattle, hog, chicken and turkey farms but acknowledged during a public meeting that they don't have the funding to pay for what could be a labor- and time-intensive undertaking.
Getting down to the nitty-gritty on antibiotics in livestock
Officials from the FDA, USDA and CDC will hear public comments on Wednesday on a proposal to collect, for the first time, data on how many pounds of antimicrobials are consumed by each of the major species of food animals - cattle, hogs and poultry.
California may be first to regulate livestock antibiotics
Gov. Jerry Brown "is widely expected to sign" a bill making California the first state in the nation to regulate antibiotic use in food animals, says news organization FairWarning, pointing to Brown's role in toughening SB 27 earlier this month. "The legislation in California, which would surpass federal recommendations and requirements, effectively would stop ranchers from regularly giving antibiotics to healthy animals."
Perdue buys antibiotic-free Niman Ranch
Family-owned Perdue Farms, one of the major U.S. poultry processors, is buying Niman Ranch, a producer of antibiotic-free meat and cage-free eggs, said Meating Place.
U.S. to give preference for meat raised with fewer antibiotics
President Obama directed the government to support "the emerging market for meat that has been produced according to responsible antibiotic-use policies" by serving the meat in federal cafeterias and, by 2020, giving routine preference to vendors selling the meat.
White House releases five-year plan on antibiotics
The Obama administration released a five-year "national action plan" to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In a blog, the secretaries of Health, Agriculture and Defense say it is "a whole-of-government approach" built around slowing the spread of resistant bacteria; better surveillance to detect resistant bacteria; development of rapid tests to guide treatment of infections; more research into new antibiotics and alternative treatments; and expanded international health work.
FDA finalizes veterinary-feed directive at antibiotic forum
Obama administration officials announced a final version of the FDA's veterinary-feed directive at a Forum on Antibiotics Stewardship at the White House today. The rule, an update of a 2000 directive, was proposed in December 2013 as the agency began steps to require veterinary approval for use of medically important antibiotics to treat or prevent disease in food animals. The FDA is halfway through a voluntary phase-out of the use of medically important antimicrobials as growth promotants in livestock.
Antibiotic use in livestock to rise by 67 percent by 2030
Livestock farmers around the world will use nearly 106,000 tonnes of antibiotics by 2030, an increase of 67 percent in two decades, a team of scientists estimated.
Medically important antibiotics – bulk of sales for livestock
Some 14.8 billion kilograms of antibiotics were sold or distributed for use in food animals in 2013 and six of every 10 kg were classified as medically important antimicrobials, said the FDA. The government aims to reduce that ratio to maintain the efficacy of antibiotics to treat human illness. The agency launched a three-year drive in 2014 to end the use of antibiotics as a growth promotant. "This summary report reflects sales and distribution information from the year prior" to the campaign, the FDA said.
Limited value from antibiotics to boost livestock growth
The advantage of using antibiotics as a growth promotant in food animals has shrunk to a tiny margin, say two Princeton University researchers who surveyed recent papers on performance in hogs and poultry. From 1950 through 1985, studies showed decidedly higher daily weight gain with sub-therapeutic use of antimicrobials, from 4 percent in slaughter hogs to 16 percent in "starter" pigs.
Costco trying to curtail antibiotic use in chicken
Big-box retailer Costco "is working toward eliminating the sale of chicken and meat from other animals raised with antibiotics that are vital to fighting human infections," says Reuters, based on interviews with senior executives.
FDA finds few violations of drug residue rules for milk
Tests of milk from 2,000 dairy farms found almost all the samples -- more than 99 percent -- were free of drug residues, said the FDA in a constituent update.
McDonald’s opts for no-antibiotic chicken, no-BST milk
The largest U.S. restaurant chain, McDonald's, announced a two-year plan to stop serving chicken raised with medically important antibiotics at its 14,000 outlets. "Our customers want food they feel good about eating -- all the way from the farm to the restaurant," said McDonald's U.S. president, Mike Andres, in a statement. The environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council said the announcement was "a big step forward" in efforts to prevent over-use of antibiotics and...
Bill would curtail medically important antibiotics in livestock
A newly filed Senate bill would require the FDA to withdraw its approval of the use of medically important antibiotics in food animals unless drugmakers show there is no risk to human health.
Wind carries antibiotics and bacteria from feedlots
Researchers at Texas Tech "found evidence of antibiotics, feedlot-derived bacteria and DNA sequences that encode for antibiotic resistance" in air samples taken near cattle feedlots in the southern High Plains, says Feedstuffs.
Six big US school districts specify antibiotic-free chicken
The Urban School Food Alliance, composed of six of the largest U.S. school districts, announced its members want antibiotic-free chicken to serve in their cafeterias.
Many livestock antibiotics will soon need vet approval
A large number of the medically important antibiotics given to cattle, hogs and poultry now sold over the counter to livestock producers will come under veterinary control in the next couple of years, says the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
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.