June 5, 2015

 

US takes another step toward regulated use of antibiotics in feeds

 

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the so-called final rule governing the use of veterinary feed directive (VFD) drugs, or animal drugs intended for use in or on animal feed that require the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

 

The FDA said on Tuesday that under the VFD final rule, only veterinarians will be allowed to administer antibiotics used by humans to cattle, sheep and poultry, and only for specific animal-health reasons.

 

The final rule, according to the FDA, is an important piece of the agency's overall strategy to promote the judicious use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals.

 

"This strategy will bring the use of these drugs under veterinary supervision so that they are used only when necessary for assuring animal health", it said.

 

Congress enacted the Animal Drug Availability Act (ADAA) in 1996, creating a new regulatory category for certain animal drugs used in or on animal feed called VFD drugs, which can only be fed to animals upon an order, called a veterinary feed directive, issued by a licensed veterinarian.

 

The VFD final rule outlines the process for authorizing use of VFD drugs and provides veterinarians in all states with a framework for authorizing the use of medically important antimicrobials in feed when needed for specific animal health purposes.

 

"The actions the FDA has taken to date represent important steps toward a fundamental change in how antimicrobials can be legally used in food-producing animals," said Michael R. Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods.

 

"The VFD final rule takes another important step by facilitating veterinary oversight in a way that allows for the flexibility needed to accommodate the diversity of circumstances that veterinarians encounter, while ensuring such oversight is conducted in accordance with nationally consistent principles."

 

In December 2013, the FDA directed manufacturers of animal drugs to voluntarily stop labeling them as drugs that can promote animal growth and instead label them as requiring veterinary supervision when they are used for therapeutic purposes. 

 

Eliminating use of antibiotics

 

Several poultry firms and meat retailers have moved toward eliminating the use of antibiotics in the products they sell or, in the case of McDonald's, serve.

 

Wal-Mart, the US' largest food retailer, for example, served notice to its suppliers in the country last month that it wants them to stop using antibiotics to fatten their animals.

 

Earlier in April US poultry giant Tyson announced that it intends to end the use of antibiotics by 2017. In the same month the US' second-largest poultry processor, Pilgrim's Pride, said 25% of its chicken production by 2019 would be antibiotic-free, up from the current 5%.

 

Likewise, McDonald's USA said in March that it would start using chickens raised without antibiotics used as human medicine, a step it said toward "better delivering on (customers') expectations".

 

A bill seeking to combat the overuse of medically important antibiotics in animals has also been filed in the US Senate.

 

Under the Prevention of Antibiotic Resistance Act of 2015 introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Susan Collins in March, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be required to withdraw its approval of medically important antibiotics used for disease prevention or control that are at high risk of abuse, unless the producer of the drug can demonstrate that its use in agriculture does not pose a risk to human health.