Antibiotic usage in animals produced for food has been a controversial topic for the past several years. The concern has been centered on the concept that antibiotic use in food animals may induce antibiotic resistance in potential food-borne pathogens for humans. Although this concept has been difficult to substantiate with hard data, consumer concerns have driven regulatory agencies, food retailers and poultry producers to make changes in antibiotic usage.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided the food animal industries guidance documents that created a framework for how antibiotics would be used in food animals beginning in 2017. This information was provided three years in advance so the animal agriculture and pharmaceutical companies could make the necessary changes. The guidance documents specified which antibiotic types were critical to human medicine and declared these medically important antibiotics would be used for therapeutic purposes and not for any production purposes. Further, it was specified that antibiotic usage would be allowed only with veterinary supervision.