November 25, 2013

1 Min Read
NPPC Comments on FDA Animal Drug Sales Report

 

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) today submitted comments on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Antimicrobial Animal Drug Sales and Distribution Annual Summary Report Data Tables.

In its letter, NPPC indicated before releasing the report, FDA should provide background to allow proper interpretation of the data.

For its part, FDA makes the following points as to why it is difficult to make a comparison between the amount of antibiotics used in humans and that use in animals, including:

  • Milligram doses for different antibacterial drugs differ. Total weights across different antibacterial drug classes (and even to a lesser extent within classes) are therefore difficult to interpret.

  • Duration and dosage of antibacterial drug administration may also vary by indication and in general between the various animal species and humans.

“We encourage FDA to consider developing a similar Q&A to explain why it will be difficult to compare the amounts of antibiotics delivered in feed or water with those that are in an injectable dosage form, or used for different indications,” says Randy Spronk, NPPC president from Edgerton, MN.

To further minimize misinterpretations, as well as to better describe the utility of the data reported, NPPC would urge FDA to consider that the data will not provide a clear causal link between antibiotic use in animals and antibiotic resistance in human illness, the NPPC letter said.

To read more of NPPC’s letter to FDA, go to www.nppc.org.

 

   

 

 

 

Subscribe to Our Newsletters
National Hog Farmer is the source for hog production, management and market news

You May Also Like