FDA calls for limiting the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has appealed to pharmaceutical companies to help limit the use of antibiotics in livestock. According to scientists, this practice, used for decades, leads to the spread of dangerous and drug-resistant bacteria.
Antibiotics, such as penicillin, are regularly mixed in feed and water so that livestock and poultry gain weight and do not get sick. Scientists have warned that this practice leads to the reproduction of antibiotic resistant microbes that can be transmitted to humans.
The FDA tried to solve this problem for decades, but it was rather difficult, because until now the influential agricultural lobby managed to persuade lawmakers that without medicines, including antibiotics, it is impossible to manufacture meat in modern conditions.
In its new instructions, the FDA recommends the use of antibiotics "within reasonable limits" and only when it is necessary for the animals to remain healthy. This agency also plans to establish a rule according to which drugs can be used only on the prescription of a veterinarian. Currently, farmers can buy them without a prescription.
"Veterinarians will now advise these manufacturers, and we believe this will be one of the important elements that will ensure the proper use of these medicines," said William Flynn, deputy director of the veterinary center as part of the FDA.
FDA instructions are recommendatory in nature, and the agency has asked the manufacturers of medicines to establish the necessary restrictions on a voluntary basis. Pharmaceutical companies will need to change the labeling of their antibiotics in order to prevent the use of drugs for commercial purposes, i.e. To increase weight and accelerate the growth of animals, so that farmers save money by cutting feed costs.
According to various estimates, 80% of all antibiotics produced in the US are used in livestock production. Neither the industry nor the government is monitoring what percentage of these drugs are used to gain weight, but many experts believe that the vast majority is not used for medical purposes.
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