Canada's livestock industry monitors U.S. antimicrobial phase out proposal

Monday, December 16, 2013

by MATT MCINTOSH

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week a new policy designed to help phase out the use of medically important antimicrobials in the production of food animals.

But it’s too soon to determine how – or if – the policy, announced Dec. 11, will affect Canadian production.

“We’re working with Health Canada on this issue,” says Jean Szkotnicki, president of the Canadian Animal Health Institute. “We need to look at it a bit closer before determining how this might affect Canadian producers.”

Antimicrobial drugs refer to those that combat harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, and are very important to modern medicine.

The FDA’s website says this decision comes in light of concerns over human health; that is, how the use of antimicrobial drugs in animal production can contribute to more medication-resistant bacteria and viruses.

“Antimicrobials are sometimes used in feed and water to supplement animal growth or improve feed efficiency,” says Szkotnicki. “The organization is only focusing on drugs that are considered to be of critical importance to human health.”

According to the FDA’s website, the new policy suggests drug companies voluntarily revise product labels to not encourage the use of antimicrobial drugs for animal production.

It also calls on more veterinary oversight in the use of antimicrobial drugs, as well as other changes to the classification and regulation of certain over-the-counter drugs that are common in food animal production. BF