PSA Ancillary Scientists Symposia: Agricultural Biosecurity: Emerging Issues in Homeland Security & Food Safety

S Monday, July 26, 2004 SYMPOSIA AND ORAL SESSIONS * Author Presenting Paper PSA Ancillary Scientists Symposia: Agricultural Biosecurity: Emerging Issues in Homeland Security & Food Safety 1 Antibiotic use in Animals and the Impact of the Growth Promoter Ban in Europe. R. B. Phillips*, Animal Health Institute, Washington, DC. Antibiotic use in food animals in the United States is trending down as producers become more careful and efficient in their use of antibiotics. Surveillance data and recent quantitative risk assessments suggest the human health risk from resistance food borne pathogens is quite small. Conversely, risk assessments and the European experience suggest the benefits of antibiotics used in food animals have been underappreciated. A non-science driven ban on growth promoter use in Europe resulted in increased bacterial illnesses in animals while producing no human health benefits. Taken together, these bodies of evidence suggest that policy actions not based on science will have negative unintended consequences. The best public health measures will include a combination of increased surveillance, continued improvements in food hygiene and rational, judicious use of antibiotics in food animals.