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NAT'L PORK PRODUCERS COUNCIL VOICES CONCERNS OVER FDA ANTIBIOTICS PROPOSAL
Jan. 16, 2024
National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) reports:
What happened: NPPC last week submitted comments critical of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) draft guidance on the duration of use of certain antibiotics in food animals. NPPC said the proposed guidance would "deny the ability for a veterinarian to prescribe antimicrobials appropriately ... burden pharmaceutical companies, and may jeopardize access to antibiotics."
To read their comments click here.
Why it matters: Antibiotics are used judiciously under veterinary supervision to maintain livestock health and ensure safe food products. Over the past three decades, the U.S. pork industry has implemented measures, including FDA directives, to responsibly use antibiotics. This includes prohibiting the use of antibiotics important to human medicine for promoting animal growth and that requires feed and water uses of those same antibiotics to be under a veterinary prescription. Pork producers actively participate in pork industry-developed programs promoting responsible antibiotic use and support federal initiatives to track antibiotic resistance in foodborne bacteria from humans, retail meats, and food animals.
NPPC's take: In its comments, NPPC emphasized that veterinarians are responsible for deciding what antimicrobials to prescribe, when products should be used and administered, and which animals to medicate and for how long. The draft guidance interferes with the veterinarian's decision-making process by mandating a duration of use.
NPPC also criticized the guidance's inclusion of statements on antimicrobial resistance mitigation, which it said could affect veterinarians' decision-making ability and lead to confusion about when a product can and cannot be used.
NPPC urged the FDA to work closely with drug manufacturers to provide a simple process to include duration of use to continue availability of products - and allow veterinarians to maintain their role in the decision-making process, supporting the judicious use of antimicrobials.
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