Food & Agriculture

Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition Asks FDA to Act Now

CFA and other members of the Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition (KAW) have submitted comments to FDA in response to the agency’s request for information on the establishing appropriate durations of therapeutic administration and taking other steps to promote the judicious use of medically important antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals. KAW’s comments note the need for urgent action to protect public health from antibiotic resistance threats that originate from the use of antibiotics in food animals. They recommend that FDA immediately withdraw approvals for uses of antibiotics in animals other than disease treatment or disease control; establish concrete goals and timelines for reducing sales of antibiotics for animal use; and narrowly define permissible “disease control” uses.