AVMA weighs in on antimicrobial use in food animals-again

In the interest of promoting science-based decisions, the Executive Board approved a position statement on the approval and availability of antimicrobials for use in food-producing animals, as put forth by the Steering Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Activist organizations have been pressuring food restaurant and retail chains to remove certain antimicrobials from use in animals that produce food for their companies, even though the antimicrobials are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Some of these organizations are also pressuring Congress to pass legislation banning certain therapeutic and growth promotant uses of antimicrobials in food animals, thereby bypassing and ignoring FDA regulatory jurisdiction.

The AVMA's new position statement reads as follows:

Approval and Availability of Antimicrobials for Use in Food Producing Animals

The AVMA recognizes that it is essential to maintain the confidence of U.S. consumers in the safety of their food supply. The role of the Food and Drug Administration to use generally accepted science supported by substantial data to evaluate product safety and efficacy is central to this process.

The AVMA supports a national, coordinated, and appropriate response to the issue of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria that includes an open or public FDA approval process that is rigorous and that includes an assessment of food safety to approve animal health products for use in animals.
The AVMA supports the science-based processes of the FDA in the regulation of antimicrobials for their intended use in food animals or when used in accordance with the AMDUCA regulations.