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Release date 10/16/2012
LOS ANGELES, CA Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, announced its support today for legislation Representative Henry Waxman intends to introduce in Congress that will help the Food and Drug Administration better understand how the overuse of antibiotics in food animals is making these drugs less effective for people.
According to the FDA, an estimated eighty percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used in food animals, mostly to make them grow faster and to prevent disease in crowded and unsanitary conditions. The routine use of antibiotics in food animals promotes drug resistant superbugs that flourish on farms and spread to communities. But little reliable data is currently available on the amount and type of antibiotics that are used for each category of food animal, which has hampered the FDA’s ability to address this issue.
“The daily feeding of antibiotics to healthy farms animals threatens public health by making these critical medications less effective for people,” said Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives for Consumers Union. “This bill will help pinpoint the extent to which antibiotics are being overused on the farm so the FDA can take appropriate action to protect public health. We need to limit the excessive use of antibiotics in animal feed if we are going to prevent them from losing their power for people.”
Consumers Union has urged Congress, the FDA, and some state legislatures to ban the routine use of antibiotics in animal feed. But these efforts have been blocked by the politically powerful pharmaceutical and livestock industries, which profit handsomely from current practices.
Recently, Consumers Union launched the Meat Without Drugs campaign with the Humane Society and Natural Resources Defense Council and other organizations to call on grocery stores to sell only meat raised without antibiotics – starting with Trader Joe’s.
Representative Waxman’s Delivering Antibiotic Transparency in Animals (DATA) Act aims to improve the quality of the information available to the FDA in a number of ways, including:
Requiring drug manufacturers to disclose to the FDA how their antibiotics are used on the farm by determining which animals the drugs are given to and for what purpose
Limiting this reporting requirement to food-producing animals most frequently consumed in the U.S. and to only those antibiotics that are important for human medicine
Requiring feed mills to report on the antibiotics used in the animal feeds they sell, detailing the type and amount of drugs used, as well as their intended use (i.e. growth promotion, disease prevention, or disease control or treatment).
Improving the timing and quality of the data publicly released by the FDA
The Meat Without Drugs campaign, which includes more than a dozen consumer, environmental, and animal welfare organizations, delivered a petition to Trader Joe’s in late September signed by over half a million consumers who support the campaign.
While most grocery stores carry some no-antibiotic meat and poultry, Whole Foods is the only store that sells these products exclusively, according to a Consumer Reports investigation.
Consumers Union is targeting Trader Joe’s because it already sells some chicken and beef raised without antibiotics and has made other recent commitments to sustainable purchasing practices. Over eighty percent of Trader Joe’s products are private label, which means it has direct control over its suppliers and can use that leverage to sell only meat without drugs.
Contacts:
Michael McCauley, Consumers Union, 415.431.6747, ext 126 (office)/415.902.9537 (cell) or mmccauley@consumer.org
David Butler, Consumers Union, 202.462.6262 or dbutler@consumer.org
Consumer Reports is a nonprofit membership organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. For 80 years, CR has provided evidence-based product testing and ratings, rigorous research, hard-hitting investigative journalism, public education, and steadfast policy action on behalf of consumers’ interests. Unconstrained by advertising or other commercial influences, CR has exposed landmark public health and safety issues and strives to be a catalyst for pro-consumer changes in the marketplace. From championing responsible auto safety standards, to winning food and water protections, to enhancing healthcare quality, to fighting back against predatory lenders in the financial markets, Consumer Reports has always been on the front lines, raising the voices of consumers.
© 2012 Consumer Reports. The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports® is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. We accept no advertising and pay for all the products we test. We are not beholden to any commercial interest. Our income is derived from the sale of Consumer Reports® magazine, ConsumerReports.org® and our other publications and information products, services, fees, and noncommercial contributions and grants. Our Ratings and reports are intended solely for the use of our readers. Neither the Ratings nor the reports may be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose without our prior written permission. Consumer Reports will take all steps open to it to prevent unauthorized commercial use of its content and trademarks.
Consumer Reports is a nonprofit membership organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. For 80 years, CR has provided evidence-based product testing and ratings, rigorous research, hard-hitting investigative journalism, public education, and steadfast policy action on behalf of consumers’ interests. Unconstrained by advertising or other commercial influences, CR has exposed landmark public health and safety issues and strives to be a catalyst for pro-consumer changes in the marketplace. From championing responsible auto safety standards, to winning food and water protections, to enhancing healthcare quality, to fighting back against predatory lenders in the financial markets, Consumer Reports has always been on the front lines, raising the voices of consumers.
© 2012 Consumer Reports. The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports® is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. We accept no advertising and pay for all the products we test. We are not beholden to any commercial interest. Our income is derived from the sale of Consumer Reports® magazine, ConsumerReports.org® and our other publications and information products, services, fees, and noncommercial contributions and grants. Our Ratings and reports are intended solely for the use of our readers. Neither the Ratings nor the reports may be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose without our prior written permission. Consumer Reports will take all steps open to it to prevent unauthorized commercial use of its content and trademarks.