What are food producers doing to prevent antimicrobial resistance?
Keeping animals healthy is the main goal – after all, sick animals aren’t allowed to enter our food chain – and healthy animals are less likely to become infected and are more likely to successfully fight off infection if they’re exposed to an organism. The use of vaccines, parasite treatments, good nutrition and good management and husbandry to reduce stress and minimize the risk of disease are all necessary strategies. It is also reasonable to expect producers to use antimicrobials judiciously. When producers use antimicrobials and other medications, they are required to follow the label directions, which include the withdrawal times for the medications. The withdrawal time is the amount of time (days, weeks or months) after the last treatment (or dose) has been given that the animal’s milk must be discarded or the amount of time before it can be slaughtered. The withdrawal times are based on how the body processes the medications, and observing them ensures that there are no drug re
