Farmers have been using sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics in animals for years. This is done to help the animals gain weight in addition to helping them survive substandard, overcrowded living conditions that make them more susceptible to disease.  Scientists are discovering that this overuse of antibiotics in food is leading to the production of strains of harmful bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, meaning that these strains are surviving and are most likely being consumed by humans.

The World Health Organization is showing concern over these issues and has stated it’s recommendation to “terminate or rapidly phase out antimicrobials for growth promotion if they are used for human treatment.”  However, it appears that the adherance to these recommendations is not uniform.  In the December 3rd issue of Daily Diagnosis, an online health and daily medical news publication for the American Society of Clinical Pathology, reported the following:

  ”The Minneapolis Star Tribune (11/20, Pabst) reported that the Food and Drug Administration “sent stern warning letters to two central Minnesota dairy farms, which were among only 30 farms nationwide reprimanded so far this year for violating the rules governing how animal drugs can be used.” The farms, J&L Dairy and Evergreen Acres Dairy, were each found to have sent a cow to slaughter with “dangerously high levels of antibiotics” in their systems. One of the cows was drugged “with 129 times the amount of penicillin allowed under federal regulations.” Keith Schaefer, the owner of Evergreen Acres Dairy, said he was “shocked” by the findings, and assured that he had “spent several days retraining the four employees who administer drugs.” The AP (11/23) reports Linda Korfe, who owns J&L Dairy, “said any drug misuse would be unintentional because they try to abide by regulations.” “ 

It is clear that as a consumer it’s difficult to know what is in your food, since farmers are not required to report the use of antibiotics on food labels.  When buying meat, it’s always best to buy organic.  Also look for the words “no antibiotics added” on meat or poultry products which indicates that the producer has satisfied the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service that the animals were raised without antibiotics.

To learn more about what you should be avoiding in your diet, sign up for our Wellness 101 workshop, or contact us for a free consultation.

In Good Health,

Dorothy Lizak

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

References:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/safe/overview.html

http://www.princeton.edu/~greening/downloads/antibiotic_table_tent1.pdf

Photo: thank you to: localpoultry.com