California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed state Senate Bill 835 on animal antibiotics when it reached his desk Monday. Brown said that the bill to ban the use of antibiotics for growth promotion and require a veterinarian prescription for a livestock antibiotic “would codify a voluntary Federal Drug Administration standard that phases-out antibiotic use for growth promotion.” In his letter to members of the state Senate, he added that the step would be “unnecessary since most major animal producers have already pledged to go beyond the FDA standard.” Wanting more done to understand and reduce reliance on antibiotics, the governor directed the Department of Food and Agriculture to work with the legislature “to find new and effective ways to reduce the unnecessary antibiotics used for livestock and poultry.” Jonathan Kaplan, director of the Food and Agriculture program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), praised the veto. “Clearly, the governor is not going to accept good intentions and fig leaf solutions to tackle this problem,” he said. “Instead, we need to lift the curtain of secrecy that now shrouds the industry’s use of these drugs and eliminate unnecessary antibiotic use so that these precious medicines keep working for people who need them.” NRDC and other public interest groups such as the Consumers Union, Environmental Working Group and Sierra Club California opposed the measure because they said it would be unlikely to actually reduce antibiotic use in livestock, mirroring the ongoing debate surrounding FDA Guidance for Industry #213, which phases out the use of antibiotics to promote growth in food animals.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
The government in the United Kingdom has been urged to follow the European Union’s lead and curb Brazilian meat imports.
The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) called on the UK
Four men have been arrested in connection with an investigation into illegal meat in England.
An operation by Dudley Council and the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) resulted in the
A bill introduced in recent days in the U.S. Senate would overhaul food labels for the first time in more than 30 years.
The bill, the Food Labeling Modernization
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
Coaticook brand white cheddar cheeses are being recalled in Canada because of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
There are 33 products covered by the recall. The products were distributed in Quebec.
Highline brand organic mini Bella sliced mushrooms are being recalled in Canada because of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
The recall was triggered by test results from the Canadian Food Inspection
Reports of food poisoning linked to a food truck are being investigated at a music festival in England.
Several people said on social media that they fell ill after eating
