24.12.2011

Antimicrobial resistance

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided not to withdraw penicillin and tetracyclines in animal feed, backing off the agency's initial intention to do so. The news was not announced, but was published in the Federal Register.
In 1977, FDA first announced its intention to withdraw the animal drug approvals - penicillin outright and the subtherapeutic use of tetracycline - citing microbial food safety concerns, but now the agency is planning to "focus its efforts for now on the potential for voluntary reform and the promotion of the judicious use of antimicrobials in the interest of public health," according to the notice.