FDA Implements Phaseout Of Selected Antibiotics

Right after the Food and Drug Administration decided to wage war on trans fats, the FDA is also targeting antibiotics.

In a press release, the FDA announced that it will be implementing a voluntary plan for changes in the "medically important" uses of antibiotics, which are oftentimes put in animal feed to help animals gain weight faster, or with less food.

"We need to be selective about the drugs we use in animals and when we use them," William Flynn, deputy director for science policy at FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a press release. "Antimicrobial resistance may not be completely preventable, but we need to do what we can to slow it down."

The agency is issuing a guidance document to help animal pharmaceutical companies tighten up rules for "medically important" antibiotics, removing growth enhancement or feed efficiency as an approved use of antibiotics. The goal is to limit antibioitic use to the treatment, prevention, and control of disease, in order to control the possibility of drug-resistant bacteria strains.

Of course, this doesn't put much more faith into the food industry, as Britains' frozen chicken was found to be pumped full of water and chemicals. Let's just hope our chicken gets to be antibiotic-free.