Thirty five years after the Food and Drug Administration determined the routine use of antibiotics in livestock feed could pose a danger to human health, a federal court Thursday compelled the agency to act on that knowledge.
The ruling, which came in response to a lawsuit filed last year by the National Resources Defense Council and others, requires the FDA to restrict the non-therapeutic use of most penicillins and tetracyclines in livestock unless manufacturers can prove their safety.
Although there is currently no timetable for action, plaintiffs believe the Federal District Court's ruling represents a massive breakthrough.
"This is a huge step forward," said Avinash Kar, NRDC health attorney. "For 35 years the FDA has done nothing on this issue and let the livestock industry police itself. In that time, the overuse of antibiotics in healthy animals has skyrocketed – contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that endanger human health. Today, we take a long overdue step toward ensuring that we preserve these life-saving medicines for those who need them most – people."
Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/stew/chi-fda-must-heed-its-own-research-on-antibiotic-use-on-livestock-20120323,0,3668440.story
The ruling, which came in response to a lawsuit filed last year by the National Resources Defense Council and others, requires the FDA to restrict the non-therapeutic use of most penicillins and tetracyclines in livestock unless manufacturers can prove their safety.
Although there is currently no timetable for action, plaintiffs believe the Federal District Court's ruling represents a massive breakthrough.
"This is a huge step forward," said Avinash Kar, NRDC health attorney. "For 35 years the FDA has done nothing on this issue and let the livestock industry police itself. In that time, the overuse of antibiotics in healthy animals has skyrocketed – contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that endanger human health. Today, we take a long overdue step toward ensuring that we preserve these life-saving medicines for those who need them most – people."
Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/stew/chi-fda-must-heed-its-own-research-on-antibiotic-use-on-livestock-20120323,0,3668440.story
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