Trust for America's Health Statement on the Food and Drug Administration's Guidance Documents 209 and 213 and Veterinary Feed Directive Proposed Rule on Antibiotic Use in Food Animals

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Apr 11, 2012, 04:57 ET

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Trust for America's Health applauds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for releasing measures today aimed at limiting the overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The following is a statement from Jeff Levi, Executive Director of TFAH, who also serves as Chair of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health.

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"This is a pivotal first step in eliminating excess use of antimicrobials in food animals, a critical problem as the effectiveness of drugs in medical treatments has been threatened by the increase in drug resistance and antimicrobial use in food animals. Regulating the use of antimicrobial drugs in animals is necessary to ensure public health.

However, we are concerned that the guidance is voluntary and as such might not be adopted by industry. So, while today's announcements are important steps, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure antibiotics are used appropriately.

Antibiotics are one of the most significant public health innovations in human history; we must ensure they continue to be effective and save lives.

TFAH looks forward to working with FDA on improving and finalizing the measures and with the food production and veterinary communities on implementation."

Trust for America's Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. www.healthyamericans.org

SOURCE Trust for America's Health