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Companies agree to antibiotic phase-out

The Food and Drug Administration says 25 out of 26 animal drug companies it asked to phase out growth promoting antibiotics used in meat animals have agreed to do that.

The FDA says the companies have, in writing, agreed to stop labeling the main antibiotics used for treating humans as acceptable for use in animal production.

The FDA has stated that it is “concerned about the risk that antimicrobial resistance poses to public health from the use of medically important antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals for production purposes.”

However, meat industry groups have told Brownfield that there is no direct scientific link between the consumption of meat from animals treated with antibiotics and human antibiotic resistance.

The FDA has not identified the 26th company that has not agreed.