Dive Brief:
- The World Health Organization has released new guidelines on how farmers around the world should use “medically important” antibiotics. The organization is concerned that farmers are overusing certain substances to make animals grow bigger and faster, which has led to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could infect consumers who eat the food.
- “A lack of effective antibiotics is as serious a security threat as a sudden and deadly disease outbreak,” director-general of WHO Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “Strong, sustained action across all sectors is vital if we are to turn back the tide of antimicrobial resistance and keep the world safe."
- WHO says many countries have already reduced the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals. The European Union banned the use of such substances for animal-related growth promotion in 2006.
Dive Insight:
Today's average consumer is demanding more natural and “clean” products across food categories, but meat raised without antibiotics is of particular interest. Consumers are concerned that when producers use antibiotics in meat that are also used in humans, those antibiotics can become less useful to humans — and help fuel the rise of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs." About 2 million people in America contract antibiotic-resistant infections every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. More than 23,000 individuals die.
Because of growing consumer interest in free-from products, an increasing number of poultry producers are moving away from antibiotic use, with many making "antibiotic-free" a more common claim on their meat and poultry packaging. Companies such as Perdue, Tyson Foods and Pilgrim's Pride have already made commitments to reduce or eliminate certain antibiotics across their entire chicken supply chains. Cargill has devised a way to use essential oils to reduce or replace use of antibiotics in poultry.
All companies aren't moving away from antibiotic use. Sanderson Farms sticks by its use of antibiotics. In fact, the poultry processor recently launched another “truth-telling” advertising campaign to notify consumers it uses antibiotics and explain why they're beneficial to the industry.
The company’s stance certainly doesn’t seem to be impeding its performance. Sanderson saw sales jump 28% and profits surge in the third quarter. A possible contributor is that consumers are choosing Sanderson's products simply because they are cheaper than organic, non-antibiotic competitors. Even Giant Food, a unit of Ahold Delhaize, introduced a new private label pork brand with no antibiotics.
It remains to be seen how much antibiotics are really being curtailed even though manufacturers have committed to cutting back on their usage. Despite increasing demand for antibiotic-free meat products, the Food and Drug Administration continues to report rising sales of antibiotics for food animals. Last December, the FDA said sales and distribution of all antibiotics posted a 1% increase from 2014 through 2015, which ties for the lowest annual increase since 2009. It's uncertain whether usage has improved since then.
Despite the WHO’s urging, as well as outcries by consumer activists and other health advocacy groups, the likelihood of any widespread change in national policy is still probably a ways off.