November 2, 2006

US aquaculture comes to grips with in-feed antibiotics

The aquaculture industry would need know the regulations on the use of veterinary feed directive (VFD) drugs if they want new products to enhance the health of their fish, experts said.

FDA classified VFDs as a new class of drugs which applies only to new in-feed therapeutics approved by FDA after 1999 and used in feed.

The first VFD drug for aquaculture, Aquaflor (florfenicol) was approved for use in catfish last year. The same drug is expected to be approved for use in freshwater salmonids -- trout, arctic char and freshwater life stages of saltwater fish like salmon, Schering-Plough Animal Health Corp, the group which developed the drug, said.

Producers of trout and other freshwater salmonids would be able to obtain VFD drugs through normal feed-distribution channels with approval from a veterinarian.

The VFD regulations were developed by a coalition in the animal health community to better control such medical feeds. The controls are in place to reduce antibiotic resistance and prolong effectiveness of new antimicrobials.

Feed with a VFD drug can be obtained as long as there are sick fish and an order can be obtained from a veterinarian with a "veterinarian-client-patient relationship" with the producer. Producers can then obtain the medicated feeds from the feedmill with the veterinarian's order.

Feed mills already holding a medicated feed mill license need to notify the FDA stating its intention to distribute an animal feed containing a VFD drug. However, they must keep all VFD orders for two years.