Tougher offshore regulations on the use of antimicrobials in food-animal production: Impacts on Australia’s pig producers

Authors: Drs Jay Gomboso and Donkor Addai

Overview

Growing global concerns over the rise in antimicrobial resistance in both humans and animals has led to some countries responding by tightening regulations on the use of antimicrobials for growth promotion, disease prevention purposes and therapeutic indications in food-animal production.

Recently, the European Union (EU), has reinforced its ban on the use of antimicrobial growth promotants; introduced new bans on the use of in-feed antimicrobial for disease prevention; and tightened regulations which reserve certain classes of antimicrobials for human-only use.

These regulations may also extend to countries outside the EU, like Australia, if they want to continue exporting animals and food-animal products intended for human consumption in the EU.

To determine the animal health and financial impacts that would likely result for Australia to satisfy the new EU regulations, ABARES used an epidemiological-economic model to estimate likely impacts on an indicative large-scale, commercial Australian piggery.

The model comprised:

• a ban on the use of all antimicrobial growth promotants (including those antimicrobials not used in human health management)
• a ban on the in-feed administration of antimicrobials for disease prevention purposes (in this case to prevent an ileitis infection following a Lawsonia intracellularis outbreak) and
• and a tightening of antimicrobials permitted to be used for the treatment of an ileitis infection following two L. intracellularis outbreaks.

This report presents estimates of the financial and animal health impacts of some EU, and hypothetical regulatory reforms on permitted antimicrobial usage in food-animal production.

Key findings

Results of the model showed that meeting the tougher importing country antimicrobial usage restrictions is a policy change that would affect Australian livestock production methods, animal health and welfare, farmgate profitability and competitive access to international markets.

The results also provided a valuable reminder on the importance of using antimicrobials in food-animal production responsibly and promoting antimicrobial stewardship (particularly in relation to implementing/maintaining strict on- and off-farm biosecurity practices).

Download the report