Five years after U.S. representatives wrote to the USDA about the agency’s “unacceptable” response to Salmonella outbreaks traced to chicken, one of the lawmakers says déjà vu is not acceptable as a food safety policy.
Federal health officials announced yesterday that 92 people are confirmed infected in a new outbreak
Continue Reading Lawmaker says new outbreak shows USDA, poultry industry need to act
It’s difficult to summarize what happened on the animal antibiotics front this year. There were lots of pledges, lots of discussions and lots of reports, but not very many actions. Still, we still wanted to recap what happened in the 2015 regarding animal antibiotics. The Centers for Disease Control and
Continue Reading 2015 in Review: Animal Antibiotics
Public health advocates concerned about how antibiotics used on farms impact increasing resistance, have long expressed the need for more on-the-ground data – particularly use by species. In May, the Food and Drug Administration proposed adding estimates of drug sales by animal species — cattle, swine, chickens or turkeys —
Continue Reading Comments in on FDA’s Plan to Collect Species-Specific Antibiotics Sales Data
According to a memorandum signed by President Obama on Tuesday, it is now the policy of the federal government to encourage responsible use of antibiotics in the production of meat and poultry. The memorandum supports the supply chain for these products by directing federal departments and agencies to create a
Continue Reading President Declares Federal Policy for ‘Responsible Use’ of Antibiotics in Food Production
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to expand animal drug data to include information about species. Each year, the agency publishes a summary of the information animal drug sponsors are required to report every year by the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA), but the data are only
Continue Reading FDA Proposes Collecting Animal Antibiotics Sales Data By Species
After FRONTLINE’s documentary on Salmonella in poultry aired Tuesday night on PBS, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) officially introduced legislation to give the U.S. Department of Agriculture mandatory recall authority over contaminated meat and poultry. Gillibrand discussed her Meat and Poultry Recall Notification Act with reporters in February, saying that,
Continue Reading Gillibrand Proposes Mandatory Recall Authority for USDA
The White House released its National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on Friday, but some critics say it doesn’t do enough to tackle antibiotic use on farms. “Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing public health issues facing the world today. It causes tens of thousands of deaths
Continue Reading Critics Call White House Antibiotics Action Plan a ‘Missed Opportunity’ on Farms
On Tuesday, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) reintroduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), which would ban non-therapeutic uses of medically important antibiotics in food animal production. “My legislation would save eight critical classes of antibiotics from being routinely fed to healthy animals and would reserve them only
Continue Reading Rep. Slaughter Reintroduces Preservation of Antibiotics Legislation
Fast-food giant McDonald’s announced Wednesday that, within two years, all of the chicken served at its 14,000 U.S. restaurants will come from farms which raised the birds without medically important antibiotics. The move could help limit the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture which contributes to an increase in antibiotic-resistant bugs
Continue Reading McDonald’s Plans to Phase Out Chicken Fed Medically Important Antibiotics
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is proposing legislation that would require recalls of meat and poultry contaminated with pathogens. “As it stands now, if foods like ground beef and sliced turkey are found to be unsafe, the U.S. Department of Agriculture lacks the authority to issue a mandatory recall,” Gillibrand said.
Continue Reading FSIS Would Have Mandatory Recall Authority Under Proposed Bill
