According to newly released federal data, sales of medically important antimicrobials used in food-producing animals in the U.S. increased by 3 percent in 2014 and by 23 percent between 2009 and 2014. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its summary of the information animal drug sponsors are required by the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) to report every year. In 2014, domestic sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobials accounted for 62 percent of all antimicrobials approved for use in food animals. Tetracyclines accounted for 70 percent of these sales, penicillins for 9 percent, macrolides for 7 percent, sulfas for 5 percent, aminoglycosides for 3 percent, lincosamides for 2 percent, and cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones for less than 1 percent each. The 2014 findings reflect an ongoing trend, with rates of increase nearly the same as in 2013. An ongoing issue with the ADUFA data for public health is that sales and distribution information is not directly correlated with how the drugs are actually used. In October, FDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a public meeting to discuss possible approaches for collecting additional on-farm antimicrobial drug use and resistance data. (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)
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.
A federal Grand Jury indictment has been filed against multiple suspects, including four defendants, with names redacted, who were formerly employed with Fayette Industrial Services. They are being charged with
An assessment has revealed what is going well and which bits need work regarding the food safety systems of five potential European Union countries.
The reports cover progress in the
A record number of issues were discussed at the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on food safety.
Attendees at the November meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and
Emergency funding legislation for the federal government approved by the Senate includes provisions that will hamper food safety efforts already in motion — industry lobbyists have been working to halt those
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
Prairie Farms is announcing a recall of select Prairie Farms Gallon Fat Free Milk produced at its Dubuque, IA, facility and distributed to Woodman’s stores in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Aoun brand tahineh is under recall in Canada because of contamination with Salmonella.
The recall was triggered by test results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The recalled tahineh was
Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends and feasting. Once the holiday meal ends, the spotlight turns to enjoying the leftovers in the days ahead. To keep those leftovers safe
