The latest UK-Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance and Sales Surveillance report shows that levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pathogens from livestock and poultry are declining, and observes a 10-year-low in the number of antibiotics sold for use in food-producing animals.

Domestic sales of medically important antibiotics for use in food-producing chicken, turkey, cattle, and swine fell by 2 percent in 2023, according to the latest report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In an effort to address the growing public health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is seeking data and information on alternative and advanced feed practices in animal agriculture to promote the responsible use of antimicrobials. 

Further underlining the pertinence of mitigating the growing global public health threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), recent research revealed 40 percent of Spanish supermarket meat samples to be contaminated with multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli.

There are viable alternatives to antimicrobial use in aquaculture that need proper investment, according to recent research supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations (FAO) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

The overuse of antibiotics in livestock raised for food can seriously affect human health and fuel antimicrobial resistance by decreasing the effectiveness of medications used for treating bacterial infections. Without effective antimicrobials, common infections will become life-threatening and certain treatments will not be possible.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a draft guidance that outlines a risk assessment approach to evaluate the microbial food safety risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) posed by new antimicrobial animal drugs. The draft guidance is open for comment.

Sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobials approved for use in food-producing animals has been decreasing since 2015, but with only a one percent reduction seen in 2020–2021, according to a recent report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA’s CVM).

A recent report has demonstrated that there is little oversight of antibiotics in meat and poultry sold at U.S. grocery stores, raising food safety concerns regarding antimicrobial resistance.

At the Global Conference on Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) stressed the need for a “One Health” approach to addressing AMR in food, introduced the AMR Codex Texts project, and highlighted FAO and Codex Alimentarius resources for mitigating foodborne AMR.