A federal judge has ordered the Food and Drug Administration to resume hearings about the use of antibiotics in animal feed, citing concern that overuse is endangering human health by creating antibiotic-resistant "superbugs," reports Jessica Dye of Reuters. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz of New York City ordered the proceedings to start unless manufacturers can prove antibiotics are safe. The agency started proceedings in 1977 in response to widespread concern about use of antibiotics in livestock feed. The proceedings were never completed, so approval for antibiotic use in feed remained in place.
The agency only formally stopped proceedings in December of last year, claiming they were outdated and that it was going to "pursue other regulatory strategies for coping with potential food-safety problems," Dye reports. A coalition of environmental and public health groups filed a lawsuit in May arguing common use of antibiotics in livestock feed has contributed to superbug growth, and claiming antibiotic-resistant infections cost Americans more than $20 billion every year, according to a 2009 study. (Read more)
The agency only formally stopped proceedings in December of last year, claiming they were outdated and that it was going to "pursue other regulatory strategies for coping with potential food-safety problems," Dye reports. A coalition of environmental and public health groups filed a lawsuit in May arguing common use of antibiotics in livestock feed has contributed to superbug growth, and claiming antibiotic-resistant infections cost Americans more than $20 billion every year, according to a 2009 study. (Read more)
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