July 18, 2025

India cracks down on antibiotic use in dairy and poultry to curb drug resistance 

In a step to enhance food safety and curb antimicrobial resistance, the Government of India has amended the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963, to ban the use of specific antimicrobial medicinal products in the production and processing of milk, milk products, eggs, and honey.

The move aligns India's export standards with global norms and aims to prevent drug residues in animal-derived foods that pose health risks to consumers.

The amendment, notified under Section 6 of the Act and following consultation with the Export Inspection Council, introduces two new clauses to the existing order dated November 9, 2020.The first bans the use of any antimicrobial medicinal product for promoting growth or increasing yield in milch animals. The second prohibits the use of a list of antibiotics, antivirals, and antiprotozoals in the treatment of milch animals or at any stage of production and processing of milk and milk products.

Among the banned substances are high-priority antibiotics such as carbapenems, glycopeptides, and oxazolidinones; antivirals like favipiravir and molnupiravir; and the antiprotozoal nitazoxanide. These drugs, many classified by the World Health Organisation as critically important for human medicine, have been linked to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) when overused in livestock. The decision comes amid growing concern over drug residues in animal-derived foods, which can trigger allergic reactions, contribute to AMR, and pose long-term health risks, including carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. According to a Veterinary World study published by the National Institutes of Health, frequent use of antimicrobials in veterinary practices is a key driver of these risks.

India, with a livestock population exceeding 1.3 billion—including poultry—accounts for around 3% of global antibiotic consumption. That figure is projected to rise by 82% by 2030, according to FAOSTAT, the FAO Statistics Division, 2020.

-      CNBC TV18