US bans use of unapproved antibiotics in food-producing animals

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the use of cephalosporins in food-producing animals such as cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys in order to reduce the development of human resistance to the drug.

According to the FDA, the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals for treatment, disease prevention or growth promotion will lead to the development and transfer of resistant bacteria and resistance genes from those animals to humans in the food chain. FDA Foods deputy commissioner Michael R Taylor said the agency believes this is an imperative step in preserving the effectiveness of this class of important antimicrobials and takes into account the need to protect the health of both humans and animals.

Under the new regulation, cephalosporins cannot be used at unapproved dosage levels, frequencies and durations, through different routes of administration, or for the prevention diseases in food-producing animals.

Cephalosporin drugs should be used only in approved food-producing animals and certain cephalosporins that have been approved for treating humans or other animals cannot be used in livestock. This ban, however, allows certain exceptions as it does not limit the use of the older drug cephapirin, which causes resistance to antibiotics.

In addition, veterinarians will be allowed to administer or prescribe cephalosporins for limited extra-label use in major food-producing animals, as long as they follow the dose, frequency, duration, and route of administration presented on the label. They will also be permitted to administer or prescribe cephalosporins for extra label uses in minor species of food-producing animals such as ducks or rabbits.

The public will be allowed to comment on the new regulation from 6 January to 6 March, following which the FDA will evaluate the comments before the order of prohibition comes into effect on 5 April.

Cephalosporins are a class of antimicrobial drug usually used to treat bacterial infections in various parts of the body such as the throat, ears, lungs, sinuses and skin, and are also considered to be an effective replacement for penicillin.