February 16, 2010

US pushes for responsible use of antibiotic

The US National Pork Board has announced that the responsible use of antibiotics has always been a top priority for US pork producers.
 

"We welcome a fact-based discussion about this issue, because we know that science tells us we're doing the right thing for animal health and food safety," said Liz Wagstrom, assistant vice president of science and technology for the National Pork Board. "Producers care about their animals and the safety of the food they produce. That's really the bottom line that should be understood by everyone."

The NPB refers to the 21-year history of the Pork Quality Assurance Plus programme, which reflects the value pork producers place on using antibiotics in a strategic and judicious way.
 

"The Pork Quality Assurance Plus programme, started by farmers in 1989, has led the way in reinforcing good on-farm practices that help ensure animals are healthy, well cared for and produce safe food," said Wagstrom.
 

According to the NPB, the top four messages that consumers should know about antibiotic use are: Antibiotics are given strategically - administered when pigs are sick, susceptible or exposed to illness; using antibiotics strategically ensures that the safest meat in the world ends up on America's dinner tables; only antibiotics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are used to treat pigs and that the US has a 20-year history of continuous improvement working with modern farm production to make pork better, healthier and safer to eat.
 

In the EU, however, the preventive use of antibiotics is much less advocated. Since it has a direct influence on human immunity to antibiotics, the preventive use in livestock has been banned for several years.