The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves antimicrobials used in livestock feeds to prevent, control, or treat certain diseases (therapeutic uses); or to promote growth or increase feed efficiency. The availability and effectiveness of antimicrobials are important for maintaining the health and welfare of food producing animals and ensuring human food safety. The AVMA believes that livestock producers and veterinarians should have availability of FDA-approved antimicrobials for administration in livestock feeds in accordance with the labeled directions.

The AVMA supports a transparent FDA drug approval process that is rigorous and based on substantial scientific evidence supported by data and that includes an assessment of food safety. The AVMA believes FDA must continue to rely on robust antimicrobial resistance surveillance (e.g., National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System) and on science to evaluate possible public health impacts. Because of the national interest in ensuring food safety and public health and because of the interstate movement of animals and products in modern food production, the AVMA believes that a nationally coordinated effort is the only way to effectively address the issue of antimicrobial resistance.

Risk analysis should continue to evaluate the risks and benefits to animal health and welfare in addition to the risks and benefits to human health attributed to uses in animals.

The AVMA urges veterinarians to work with all livestock producers to implement judicious use guidelines and to encourage the implementation of food animal quality assurance programs such as Dairy Quality Assurance (DQA), Beef Quality Assurance (BQA), Pork Quality Assurance (PQA), and Take Care - Use Antibiotics Responsibly. The AVMA also recommends that veterinarians assist food animal producers in reviewing and assessing the uses of antimicrobials in livestock feed. Veterinarians should also recommend preventive practices to minimize antimicrobial need. The AVMA recognizes that more data are needed to complete a risk analysis on the public health significance of all antimicrobial uses in livestock feeds. We urge the FDA and other public health agencies, as well as veterinarians and livestock producers, to cooperatively support scientific studies needed to close the data gaps.

The AVMA concludes that currently there is not enough evidence to justify legislative or regulatory prohibition of classes of use of antimicrobials in livestock feeds, whether for therapeutic use or for improving animal growth and feed conversion. All regulatory or legislative actions should be transparent and based on scientific risk analysis.