Toward that end, the National Pork Board has hosted meetings with its food chain partners, sharing the innovation of current production practices and efforts to responsibly use antibiotics. Since the U.S. pork industry introduced its new antibiotic stewardship plan in June, meetings have been held with animal health companies, packers and processors, and retail and foodservice leadership.
“We are advancing in antibiotic stewardship, but antibiotics remain a vital part of our ability to address animal welfare and food safety issues,” said Michael Apley, a veterinarian and professor in clinical sciences at Kansas State University. “We can raise some animals without antibiotics, but not all.”
“The science is complicated, but we do know how to improve the use of antibiotics in both human and animal medicine,” said Steven Solomon, M.D., a public health consultant and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s office of antimicrobial resistance. “We need to better translate complex information about antibiotic use for the benefit of the food consumer and the medical community.”
The National Pork Board has defined a three-point plan of action focused on five research priorities, shaping educational outreach to pig farmers and broadly sharing information with the retail and foodservice industries and pork consumers.
Research – Investing $750,000 in new research projects that span five distinct priorities intended to provide data for animal and public health outcomes (pig health/welfare, human health/safety, environmental impact and pork quality).
Education – Updating the Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus®) farmer certification program in 2016 and investing up to $400,000 in education and awareness programs to ensure pig farmers understand and adopt new Food and Drug Administration rules for the use of medically important antibiotics (to treat human illness) in feed and water.
Communications – Gathering industry leaders for meetings on responsible antibiotic use and sharing the U.S. pork industry’s story of continuous improvement with producers and consumer media through outreach, byline articles and advertisements.
“All of these efforts are focused on sharing our story of innovation and excellence in pork production. The bottom line is simple: safe food comes from healthy animals,” said Derrick Sleezer, National Pork Board president and a pig farmer from Cherokee, Iowa. “Our farmers are experts in animal care and sustainable farming. And that expertise is needed to maintain our track record of responsible antibiotic use. Our goal is to protect the health and well-being of people, pigs and the planet.”
Source: PorkCheckoff