Clock ticking on more barriers to antibiotics use in feeding

The global shift toward limiting antibiotics use in livestock feeding hit the fast lane in recent months with a series of major actions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S.

Now Canada too is jumping into the fray with its own steps to curb antibiotics use in the industry.

Big shift for Canada

As major news outlets such as CBC and the Globe and Mail have reported, the recent action by Health Canada could not have been lower key. No big announcement, no news conference, just a simple ‘notice’ posted on its web site – yet it’s a major shift in policy that is big news for livestock feeding in this country.

Among highlights, Health Canada says it will focus on two steps:

• Removal of growth promotion and/or production claims of medically important antimicrobial drugs
• Development of options to strengthen the veterinary oversight of antimicrobial use in food animals.

No word on specific timeframe but this is an issue FeedScape and undoubtedly other industry observers will follow closely in the months ahead. View the Health Canada notice here.