June 15, 2006

Public institutions in Maine to favour meat free from antibiotics

Legislators in the US state of Maine have approved a recommendation of a study group which would require state institutions and schools to give preference to brokers or wholesalers supplying meat from animals that have not been given antibiotics other than for therapeutic reasons.

However, that preference should be given only if meat suppliers are similar in quality, quantity, availability and price.

The state's Joint Standing Committee in May agreed to the report and asked for implementation of the recommendations.

The Keep Antibiotics Working coalition hailed the move and noted that Maine joins a growing number of large-scale food purchasers working to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics for use in human medicine.

Such groups worry that when antibiotics are wide usage of antibiotics may eventually produce a super-virus that would defeat all antibiotics and infect humans.

However, the Coalition for Animal Health, has expressed concern that the move would burden the state's agencies and stigmatise Maine's producers who use Food & Drug Administration-approved animal drugs.

Such a policy could also deny treatment to animals when it is needed, which would not only endanger animal health and welfare but also food safety, the Coalition said.

It also added that such a move is meaningless without an auditing and enforcement system.

Other recommendations by the study group which would be implemented include efforts to reduce non-therapeutic use of antibiotics at the federal level, enhancing animal programmes for the prudent use of antibiotics and providing veterinarians with best-practices course on antibiotic use.