A study conducted by Arizona State University and Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) found banned antibiotics in chicken feather meal, a byproduct made of ground poultry feathers that is added to cattle, chicken, pig, and fish feed. The drugs that were found included Prozac, Benadryl, and fluoroquinolones, a class of drugs that were banned for use in poultry in 2005 because Campylobacter were becoming resistant to those drugs. Fluoroquinolones are important because they are very effective when used to fight infections caused by bacteria that have developed resistance to other antibiotics. The study authors state that antibiotics are "introduced into the feed and water of industrially raised poultry, primarily to make them grow faster, rather than to treat disease." All … [Read more...]
FDA Announces Voluntary Guidance to Restrict Antibiotic Use in Farm Animals
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a guidance document listing voluntary measures to restrict the use of antibiotics in farm animals. The government is asking drug companies to change the labels on their products so they can only be used to prevent, control, or treat disease, and will only let farmers use the drugs under the supervision of a veterinarian. Guidance documents are non-binding recommendations that are not enforceable. The FDA uses them to ask corporations and facilities to change their methods. According to the FDA, "guidances describe the Agency's current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited. The use of the word 'should' in Agency guidances means that something is … [Read more...]
STOP Webinar: Regulation, Guidance, and Litigation of Antibiotic Use in Animals
On Friday, April 13, 2012, Food Poisoning Bulletin attended a webinar organized by STOP Foodborne illness. The featured speaker was Tyler Smith, Senior Research and Policy Assistant at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF). He spoke about the responsible use of antibiotics in food animal production. There are three ways that antibiotic use in animals is controlled: Regulation. This legally binding and enforceable action by the government can be used to control how and when antibiotics are used to treat food animals. Guidance. The FDA or USDA can issue a "guidance document", which sets out the parameters for 'judicious use' of antibiotics. These non-binding recommendations try to persuade drug companies to voluntarily change their approvals. Litigation. A lawsuit can … [Read more...]
Concern Over Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Soils
A study published in the online journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (56:1434-1443. 2012) found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are found in agricultural soils. The soils were treated with manure from animals fed sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics. Should consumers be concerned about this study, especially as gardening season approaches? Dr. Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, professor of Food Safety Microbiology at the University of Minnesota, told Food Poisoning Bulletin that recommending any action to the consumer based on a single publication is a bit premature. Still, using untreated or raw manure in soils that are used to grow vegetables for human consumption can be dangerous. There is a documented case of a child contracting E. coli 0157:H7 from garden soil recently … [Read more...]
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Found in Soil and Water
Two weeks ago, Dr. Margaret Chan, directed general of the World Health Organization, said that antibiotic resistance could "end modern medicine as we know it." Scientists are alarmed by the increase in multi-drug resistant bacteria in recent years. And agricultural use of antibiotics to promote growth in farm animals has been a focus of scientists' concerns for years. A study published in the online journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (56:1434-1443. 2012) has found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are found in agricultural soils. These are soils that have been treated with manure from animals given sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics. The study looked at four types of soils amended with manure and non-manure amended compost and soil from forests. The bacteria in soils … [Read more...]
Judge Orders FDA to Resume Process of Removing Antibiotics from Animal Feed
Today, a New York District Court judge ruled in favor of the National Resources Defense Council, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Animal Concerns Trust, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Public Citizen and against the FDA over the matter of antibiotic use in food-producing animals. Food Poisoning Bulletin reported on this issue back in December. At that time, the FDA abandoned the process of withdrawing approval of those drugs in animal feed. The lawsuit was filed in May 2011 to force the FDA to finally follow through on a 1977 process removing growth promoting antibiotics that are routinely put into animal feed. Magistrate Judge Theodore H. Katz granted a summary judgment and denied the FDA's request for a dismissal. The judge ordered the FDA to begin proceedings … [Read more...]
World Health Organization: Antibiotic Resistance Could ‘End Modern Medicine’
Dr. Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) said at a conference in Copenhagen that antibiotic resistance could "end modern medicine as we know it." Her keynote address was given on March 14, 2012. Food Poisoning Bulletin has told you about how the common use of antibiotics in farm animals has created antibiotic-resistant bacteria, that the numbers of foodborne illnesses caused by antibiotic resistance bacteria are increasing, and that the U.S. government has waffled on the issue of restricting their use in animals used for food. Dr. Chan mentioned Denmark's response to this problem as a potential model for other countries. Denmark has a very low domestic antibiotic consumption, and has been proactive in the problem of antibiotic use in … [Read more...]
Antibiotic Resistant Foodborne Illness On the Rise In The EU
Cases of foodborne illness in Europe are frequently resistant to antibiotics, according to a new report based on data collected from the 26 European Union member states for 2010. The report, by the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC) in Sweden and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Italy, shows that Salmonella and Campylobacter, the main causes of foodborne illness in the EU, are resistant to several antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin. The new report adds weight to what the ECDC has maintained for a number of years: antimicrobial resistance has become a major public health threat in the EU. The ECDC website states “Misuse of antibiotics leads to the emergence and selection of resistant bacteria. Doctors in Europe and worldwide now are sometimes … [Read more...]
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Foodborne Illness Outbreaks in 2011
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has released a white paper discussing antibiotic-resistant bacteria outbreaks in 2011. That year, 167 people were sickened and 47 were hospitalized. There were three major outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant foodborne illness in 2011. In spring 2011, an outbreak of Salmonella Hadar associated with Jennie-O turkey burgers sickened 12 people in 10 states. The outbreak strain was resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanate, cephalothin, and tetracycline. In April 2011, 136 people in 34 states were sickened by Cargill ground turkey contaminated with Salmonella Heidelberg. The bacteria in that outbreak was resistant to ampicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and gentamicin. In December 2011, an outbreak of Salmonella … [Read more...]
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter Queries Companies About Antibiotic Use
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) sent a letter last week to more than 60 fast food corporations, processors, producers, and grocery chains, asking them about their policies on antibiotic use in farm animals. She would like their response by June 15, 2012. Some of the corporations which received the letter include McDonald's, Kraft, Cargill, Costco, Whole Foods, YUM! Brands, Burger King, and Bon Appetit Management Company. Ms. Slaughter, who is a microbiologist, wants the companies to provide the number of beef, poultry, and pork products that are raised "without antibiotics", with "therapeutic antibiotic doses", and with "routine antibiotic use." She also wants to know if the companies educate their consumers about how their meat is produced and purchased. Her letter states, … [Read more...]
