ACMSF Report will not give fully up-to-date picture, says NOAH
The report of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of
Food, due to be published tomorrow, will be ‘an interesting historic document’,
claims the National Office of Animal Health. Its proposals should be read in the light of
all that has already been done in UK and Europe.
The Working Group set up specifically to examine antimicrobials in the food chain was set up in 1996 -
NOAH itself gave oral evidence in 1997 with a follow up in spring 1998.
"Yet much has moved on since then, not only in the UK but
throughout Europe and the rest of the world," says NOAH director Roger Cook.
"All animal medicines are controlled stringently in their
licensing and use. Both the veterinary and medical professions are aware of the vital role
of antibiotics in keeping their patients - and the
need to keep them effective in the future.
"Since the inception of the ACMSF inquiry there have been many
expert reports on the future for antibiotics in
animals and humans - the UK House of Lords Select Committee and Veterinary Products Committee; the EU Commission Report
and the report of the Committee on Veterinary Medicinal Products; the World Health
Organisation report, as well as a host of national and international conferences,"
said Mr Cook.
He added that many of the proposals from these reports were already in
place in the UK; others have been established since and more are underway. These include
quality assurance schemes, veterinary profession codes of practice on antibiotic use, the very stringent licensing system
for animal medicines, an in-depth surveillance study for risk assessment underway in six
European countries involving tens of thousands of bacterial samples, and the RUMA alliance.
"The RUMA (Responsible Use
of Medicines in Agriculture) alliance involves organisations representing every stage of
the “farm to fork” chain, promoting a co-ordinated and integrated approach to
best practice. This means the whole food chain is acting together to ensure the safety of
British meat offered to consumers," said Mr Cook.
Following 18 months work, this summer RUMA
launched guidelines on the responsible use of antibiotics
in pig and poultry: guidelines for cattle and sheep will be published soon. The overall
aim is to promote best practice in livestock husbandry to reduce the need for antibiotic usage.
Recognising the particular need to maintain the availability and
efficacy of fluoroquinolones
for both humans and animals, last year the industry developed a position on what
constitutes their responsible use, as an extra guide to the veterinary profession and
animal medicine industry.
Mr Cook said: "This reiterates the importance of sticking to the
letter of the law when using these products and in advertising their use. It highlights
the role of therapeutic treatment within total health management such as vaccination and
good animal care. And it clears up misconceptions surrounding their use: fluoroquinolones are not licensed
for use as growth promoters and are not used in this manner".
"We look forward to the publication of this report, but stress
that the use of antibiotics is a global issue and
that some of the report’s comments could have been superseded. Government, in its
consideration of the report, should not consider it in isolation. Much has already been
done: however the animal health industry is not complacent, and welcomes the opportunity
to continue to work alongside the veterinary and medical professions, to keep antibiotics effective for animals and people,"
said Mr Cook.
17 August 1999
Notes for Editors
For further information contact Roger Cook or Alison
Glennon at NOAH, tel. +44 (0)20 8367 3131, or visit the NOAH
website.
The National Office of Animal Health was formed on 1
January 1986 to represent the UK companies which research, develop, manufacture and market
licensed animal health products. The association has 34 corporate members and 10 associate members.
In 1998 NOAH's members accounted for around 95% of the £384 million UK animal health
market, with additional valuable exports.
|
