The UK's biggest retailer will henceforth require dairy suppliers to restrict their use of antibiotics to treat farm animals, to help prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance, which threatens our ability to combat human infection.
Milk producers who belong to Tesco's Sustainable Dairy Producer Group are to be required to meet new guidelines restricting their use of antibiotics. In particular, farmers are to avoid using the so-called Critically Important Antimicrobials (CIAs), which are vital in human medicine.
The move comes as it is recognised that overuse of antibiotics, especially in intensive livestock farming, has led to the development of bacteria that are resistant to most of the antibiotics that are currently available to treat the diseases they cause.
The UK's major retailers use Producer Groups to control the quality and supply of the various farm commodities they buy. In combination they represent a significant proportion of UK farmers. Find out more about this story here.
The news about Tesco comes as the European Food Safety Authority publishes a review (available here) of the measures currently being taken across the EU to reduce the use of antibiotics in food animals. It finds that continued, and potentially radical action is needed on a number of fronts -- including the possibility of 'rethinking livestock production systems to reduce inherent disease risk'.
Sustain campaigns for a greener, fairer and healthier food system. Find out more about our Save our Antibiotics campaign here.
Published Friday 27 January 2017
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
