Food & Agriculture

Consumer Groups’ Letter to FDA Asking for Clear Guidance on Indications for Antibiotic Use in Animals

CFA and other consumer and public health organizations urge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to clarify how pharmaceutical companies must direct veterinarians to use antibiotics. FDA has asked drug makers to begin requiring veterinary approval for most antibiotics in feed by the end of 2016, and in anticipation of the change, the agency has recently modified requirements for how these drugs can be used. FDA guidance implementing these changes, however, suggests that veterinarians may specify multiple indications for a drug’s use, contrary to what the rules require. By specifying a single indication, veterinarian feed directives will provide better data about how livestock producers are using antibiotics, discourage overuse, and better support FDA’s ability to oversee the use of medicinally important antibiotics.