Applegate Praises Court for Ordering FDA to Address Antibiotics in Food Animal Production

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Mar 23, 2012, 03:53 ET

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., March 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Applegate applauds yesterday's decision by a federal judge instructing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw approval for tetracyclines and penicillin in food animal production. The ruling comes from a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), Public Citizen, and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) last year.

"This is a tremendous victory for public health," said Stephen McDonnell, founder and CEO of Applegate, the leading producer of natural and organic meats and cheeses. "The FDA has dragged its feet for more than 30 years on antibiotic resistance and we applaud U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz for finally holding those feet to the fire."

In 1977, the FDA determined that the use of penicillin and tetracyclines in food animal production posed a risk to human health and proposed to withdraw approval for the uses of those antibiotics in animal feed. Regardless of their conclusion, the FDA did not regulate these antibiotics prompting NRDC and its partners to take action.

Applegate is committed to educating the public about the dangers of antibiotic overuse in animal agriculture and its effects on the environment and human health. Applegate, in partnership with STOP Foodborne Illness, launched Citizens Against Superbugs in December 2011. A survey sponsored by Citizens Against Superbugs found that 75 percent of Americans want government to do something to restrict the use of antibiotics in animal farms, and 71 percent believe that antibiotic overuse and misuse is causing antibiotic resistance and a human health crisis.

McDonnell is asking the public to become part of the conversation and provide comments to the FDA through www.facebook.com/CitizensAgainstSuperbugs and Twitter with #StopSuperbugs. "It's critical to public health that we preserve the efficacy of medicine's first miracle drug," he said.

About the Survey
The survey was administered online by Toluna, one the world's leading online panel and survey technology providers, with a total sample of 2,211 men and women aged 18 years or older. From this overall sample, 573 parents with children under 18 living at home, who are registered voters, and are primary grocery shoppers were identified and screened. Research was conducted in November 2011. The survey was sponsored by Applegate.

About Applegate
For more than 20 years, Applegate has been producing high-quality natural and organic hot dogs, bacon, sausages, deli meats, cheese and frozen products. Natural can mean many things, but when Applegate says their products are natural, consumers are guaranteed that the meat inside is:

Raised without antibiotics or hormones
From animals fed a vegetarian or 100% grass diet and treated with humane animal standards
Free of added chemical nitrites, nitrates or phosphates
Free of artificial ingredients or preservatives

For more information about our products, visit http://www.applegate.com/.

SOURCE Applegate