March 31, 2016

EW Nutrition participates in national project to minimise antibiotic resistance

EW Nutrition GmbH is participating in a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Nutrition and Agriculture (BMEL) to minimise antibiotic-resistant pathogens in poultry production.

BMEL is funding the collaborative research project "Development of Reduction Measures for Antibiotic-resistant Pathogens in Poultry" (EsRAM) with 2.46 million Euros (US$2.78 million) over a three-year period.

The aim of the project is the development of products and means to reduce antibiotic resistant pathogens at key stages along the entire poultry production chain.

Said the German federal minister of nutrition and agriculture Christian Schmidt: "We only will be able to prevent the development of antibiotic resistance if human and veterinary medicine work hand in hand. With the 16th amendment of the Medicinal Products Act (Arzneimittelgesetz), Germany has already established a system for minimising the use of antibiotics in livestock production. A further important building block to avoid antibiotic resistance is research. That is why this ministry is investing in the development of specific measures and products that show promise for reducing the emergence and transfer of antibiotic-resistance in poultry production."

Together with the Institute of Animal Nutrition at the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin), EW Nutrition will develop feed additives based on natural ingredients for the reduction of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the poultry production chain.

Dr. Thilo Borchardt, project leader at EW Nutrition, explained: "In cases where the use of antibiotics is not mandatory or as a support for antibiotic treatments there is room for alternative products that are based on natural active ingredients. Their antibacterial activity is widely used to treat infectious diseases. Due to multiple modes of action a combination of different natural substances can be an effective measure to attenuate the spread of antibiotic resistance. EW Nutrition develops and already produces feed additives based on secondary plant compounds to foster animal health and to increase the productivity in livestock. With our knowledge we will contribute to minimising antibiotic resistance in the poultry production chain."

Specifically, the project focusses on poultry meat with a reduced prevalence of antibiotic resistant pathogens, particularly ESBL-producing enterobacteria and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Professor Uwe Rösler, director of the Institute of Animal and Environmental Hygiene, is coordinating the following partners in the "EsRAM" project: The Institute of Poultry Diseases, the Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, the Institute of Food Hygiene and the Institute of Animal Nutrition, all affiliated to the Free University of Berlin; The Institute of Animal Hygiene and Infection Diseases at the Justus-Liebig-University of Gießen, the Clinic for Birds and Reptiles at the University of Leipzig, the Leibniz-Institute for Agricultural Engineering in Potsdam, the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute in Jena and the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Berlin. In addition to EW Nutrition, other industry partners are the Central Association of the German Poultry Industry (Zentralverband der Deutschen Geflügelwirtschaft e. V.) and Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Research GmbH.