Thursday, April 12, 2012

Mixed reviews for new FDA guidance

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday issued a new guidance on the use of antibiotics in livestock production, drawing mixed responses from livestock organizations and groups opposed to antibiotics in agriculture. The final Guidance 209 calls for voluntary suspension of non-therapeutic use of certain antibiotics in livestock. "Under this new voluntary initiative, certain antibiotics would not be used for so-called 'production' purposes, such as to enhance growth or improve feed efficiency in an animal," said the FDA in a statement. "These antibiotics would still be available to prevent, control or treat illnesses in food-producing animals under the supervision of a veterinarian." FDA also issued a draft proposed rule, which would encourage pharmaceutical companies to remove production uses of certain antibiotics from their FDA-approved product labels. “NCBA raised concern with FDA’s Guidance 209 in 2010 because the agency lacked the necessary science in its recommendations,” says Tom Talbot, a California beef producer, large animal veterinarian and current chairman of the NCBA’s Cattle Health and Well-Being Committee...more

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