Tag: antibiotics
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Guidance on Antimicrobials in Animals Released
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released guidance on the use of “medically important antimicrobials” in “food-producing animals.” The guidance describes a voluntary process that “will help ensure new animal drugs containing antimicrobials of human importance are administered only under veterinary oversight and only for therapeutic uses.” The agency will accept comments on the…
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Study Examines Effects of Antibiotic Use in Meat Production in Low-Income Countries
A group of researchers from universities in Belgium, India, Switzerland and the United States have published a study examining how the use of antibiotics in meat production in low- and middle-income countries has affected antibiotic resistance worldwide. Van Boeckel et al., “Global trends in antimicrobial resistance in animals in low- and middle-income countries,” Science, September…
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The Guardian Introduces “Toxic America” Series
The Guardian has released “Toxic America,” a “major series to investigate the risks of contamination in our food, water, and cosmetics.” Articles in the series include: A comparison between the “stringent health and environment review” that the European Union will apply to foods edited using CRISPR-Cas9 and the perceived lack of regulation for similar foods…
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Citrus Growers Look to Antibiotics to Fight Citrus Greening
In an effort to combat citrus greening, some citrus farmers have reportedly begun spraying antibiotics on their trees, sparking concerns about antibiotic resistance, according to the New York Times. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) apparently approved the use of streptomycin and oxytetracycline for emergencies “despite strenuous objections from the Food and Drug Administration and the…
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Sanderson Farms “100% Natural” Chicken Lawsuit to Continue
A California federal court has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that Sanderson Farms Inc. misleads consumers about the presence of antibiotics in its chickens. Friends of the Earth v. Sanderson Farms Inc., No. 17-3592 (N.D. Cal., entered December 3, 2018). The plaintiffs—several advocacy groups—assert that Sanderson’s marketing misleads consumers into believing that…
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Cattle Producer Receives Warning on Antibiotic Use
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a warning letter to Roorda Dairy advising that an investigation of its premises revealed cattle sold for food that tested positive for unapproved antibiotics. The agency purportedly tested muscle tissue and found antibiotics used contrary to the approved label use and found no evidence of veterinary…
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Op-Ed Profiles Farmer Targeting Antibiotics in Cattle
A New York Times opinion piece has detailed the efforts of Sandy Lewis, an organic cattle farmer, to persuade fellow ranchers and others in the agriculture industry not to administer antibiotics for growth in cattle. Lewis, a former arbitrageur, has called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban and criminalize the use of…
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NRDC Seeks FDA Documents Assessing Risks of Antibiotics in Livestock Production
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) alleging that they have failed, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, to produce documents pertaining to risk assessments for antibiotics used in livestock production. NRDC v. FDA,…