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 U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-NY), said she plans to introduce
new legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to
collect data on “farm-level antibiotic use.” The pledge was part of
a letter Gillibrand sent Tuesday to FDA Commissioner Margaret
Hamburg. In the letter, Gillibrand said that “the scale of
injudicious use” of antibiotics in poultry production documented by
Reuters “was staggering.”
Another member of Congress, Rep. Louise Slaughter, (D-NY),
introduced legislation in February 2013 that would require drug
makers, livestock producers and the FDA to release more data on
antibiotic use in food animals. On Monday, she urged fellow
lawmakers to address the issue at a hearing on antibiotic resistance
scheduled Friday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s
subcommittee on health.
“Industry has kept data showing the rampant, dangerous use of
antibiotics hidden from the public for one reason: to protect
corporate profits at the expense of public health,” Slaughter said.
Reuters reviewed more than 320 internal documents, called “feed
tickets,” that detail the practices of five major companies – Tyson
Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, Perdue Farms, George’s and Koch Foods. The
feed tickets list the names and grams per ton of each “active drug
ingredient” in feed. They also indicate the FDA-approved purpose of
those medications, and specify during which stage in a chicken’s
roughly six-week life the feed should be administered.
The documents show that antibiotics were given as standard practice
over most of the life of the chickens, not just when the birds are
sick. In every instance of antibiotic use identified, the doses were
at the low levels that scientists say are especially conducive to
the growth of so-called superbugs -- bacteria that can gain
resistance to conventional medicines used to treat people. Some of
the antibiotics belong to categories considered medically important
to humans.
In interviews, another major producer, Foster Poultry Farms,
acknowledged that it also has used the antibiotics chlortetracycline
and penicillin selectively but not as part of standard feed. The two
drugs are in the same classes as antibiotics considered medically
important to humans by the FDA.
The FDA has issued voluntary guidelines to regulate antibiotic use
by producers of poultry and other livestock. The use of antibiotics
rated medically important by the FDA for growth promotion is
scheduled to be phased out by December 2016. The FDA says it also
inspects the mills where animal feed is made but does not examine
the feed tickets themselves – documents that show how drugs are
administered.
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In response to the Reuters report, the National Chicken Council, an
industry trade group, said that the majority of antibiotics approved
for use in raising chickens are not used in human medicine, and pose
no threat of creating resistance.
“We understand the concern about the use of antibiotics in farm
animals and recognize our responsibility to ensure they are properly
used for the right reasons to protect the health of animals, humans
and the food supply,” said Ashley Peterson, the council’s vice
president of scientific and regulatory affairs.
Gillibrand said the legislation she intends to sponsor would enable
the FDA to track farm-level antibiotic use by collecting veterinary
prescriptions. Under a new FDA rule, company veterinarians will be
required to issue a prescription whenever antibiotics are used. But
that rule doesn’t take effect until April 2016.
Some companies are reluctant to discuss how they medicate their
flocks.
In a letter dated Sept. 8, Pilgrim’s Pride advised its growers to
protect “our confidential and proprietary information (information
such as the information contained on feed tickets for example).”
Violating what the company called “biosecurity and confidentiality
obligations” is “a terminable offense” and the growers could be
liable for damages, the letter said. Growers were asked to sign and
date the letter.
A Pilgrim’s Pride spokesman did not respond to a request for
comment.
(Reporting By Brian Grow and P.J. Hufstutter)
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