FDA recently issued a draft guidance on the use of antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals. To read the US Ag&Food Law Blog post on this issue, click here.
During the testimony on Wednesday, USDA's chief veterinarian, John Clifford, testified that USDA believes "it is likely that the use of antimicrobials in animal agriculture does lead to some cases of antimicrobial resistance among humans and in animals themselves" according to the Green Fields Blog of the Des Moines Register.
Randal Singer, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, testified that the "best way to manage antibiotic use in animal agriculture is through sound, rational, science-based policy" as reported by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Singer also stated that the removal of antibiotics for the use of growth promotion in Denmark caused an increase in therapeutic use of "medically important" antibiotics to treat illnesses in animals.
For the full text of the witness testimony, click here.
To read the Green Fields Blog story, click here.
To read the NPPC story, click here.
Posted: 07/16/2010
