{"id":48633,"date":"2025-07-19T16:52:42","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T11:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=48633"},"modified":"2025-07-29T12:54:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T07:24:34","slug":"antibiotic-regulations-food-animals-amr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/19-07-2025\/antibiotic-regulations-food-animals-amr","title":{"rendered":"Antibiotic Regulations in Food Producing Animals Amid Global AMR Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Issues Related To Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is stepping up its regulatory framework to address the use of antibiotics in food animal production, reflecting a broader international push to safeguard human health and ensure food safety.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Use of Antibiotics in Food-Producing Animals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/25-04-2025\/india-combating-antimicrobial-resistance\">AMR<\/a> occurs when pathogens \u2014 <strong>bacteria, viruses, fungi <\/strong>\u2014 develop resistance to drugs that once effectively treated infections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is <strong>driven by the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials<\/strong> in both human and veterinary medicine.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As a result, once-treatable infections are becoming deadly, and the ripple effects are being felt across health systems, food production, and economies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to the <strong>First Global Animal Health Report<\/strong> released by the <strong>World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH),<\/strong> AMR could cost:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>$100 trillion in economic losses projected by 2050;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Food security of 2 billion people at risk due to declining livestock productivity;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Healthcare costs could surge by $159 billion annually;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Global GDP losses could reach $1.7 trillion per year;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Livestock production losses could affect consumption needs of up to 2 billion people<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>About <strong>30% reduction in antibiotic use<\/strong> through improved hygiene, vaccination, and biosecurity could boost the global economy by $120 billion by 2050.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In Aquaculture &amp; Livestock:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fluoroquinolones account for 15.8% of antimicrobials used in aquaculture;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>20% of WOAH member countries still use antimicrobials as growth promoters;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>7% use critically important antibiotics like colistin and enrofloxacin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need For Antibiotic Regulations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>EU\u2019s Stringent Antimicrobial Regulations for Imports:<\/strong> The European Union (EU) has implemented robust regulations to curb antimicrobial use in food animals and ensure food safety for its citizens.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Countries <strong>not included in the authorised list, including India,<\/strong> need to demonstrate compliance with these regulations and submit relevant certifications by <strong>3 September 2026<\/strong> to continue uninterrupted exports to the EU.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Preserving Drug Efficacy:<\/strong> Without regulation, even last-resort antibiotics like carbapenems and colistin are losing effectiveness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protecting Public Health:<\/strong> AMR threatens to reverse decades of medical progress, making routine surgeries and infections potentially fatal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Safeguarding Exports:<\/strong> Stricter norms are essential to meet international food safety standards, especially for animal-derived products.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Regulatory Changes: Strengthening Domestic Regulations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Amendment in the <strong>Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963,<\/strong> banning the use of specific antimicrobial drugs in the production of milk, eggs, and honey.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) <\/strong>formally notified the ban covering <strong>15 antibiotics\/antibiotic classes, 18 antivirals, and 1 antiprotozoal.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB),<\/strong> under the <strong>Central Drugs Standard Control Organization,<\/strong> reviewed the EU\u2019s list of 37 restricted antimicrobials. It recommended prohibition of <strong>34 out of 37<\/strong> antimicrobials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aquaculture and Export Norms: <\/strong>India\u2019s coastal aquaculture guidelines <strong>prohibit five antibiotic classes<\/strong> and <strong>five specific antibiotics.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is crucial for maintaining export standards, especially as international buyers increasingly demand antibiotic-free products.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Honey &amp; Residue Limits:<\/strong> The new rules target honey production, setting stricter residue limits for nitrofurans, sulphonamides, and nine other antibiotics.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Maximum residue limits (MRPLs) have been doubled from 5 \u00b5g\/kg to 10 \u00b5g\/kg.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>FSSAI\u2019s New Rules:<\/strong> The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) introduced the amendment to its <strong>Contaminants, Toxins, and Residues<\/strong> regulations.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It prohibits antibiotic use at any stage of producing milk, meat, poultry, eggs, and aquaculture. Banned substances include:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Antibiotic Classes:<\/strong> glycopeptides, nitrofurans, nitroimidazoles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Antibiotics:<\/strong> carbadox, chloramphenicol, colistin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Potential Issues &amp; Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Enforcement Challenges:<\/strong> Small-scale farmers often rely on low-cost antibiotics, and veterinary drugs are frequently used without prescriptions.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Robust inspection and testing mechanisms are essential to ensure compliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fragmented Oversight:<\/strong> Regulatory responsibilities are split across multiple ministries \u2014 health, agriculture, and environment \u2014 leading to incoherent policy enforcement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Weak Surveillance:<\/strong> India lacks a centralized AMR database, making it difficult to track resistance patterns and antibiotic consumption.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environmental Impact:<\/strong> Pharmaceutical waste containing antibiotic residues is often discharged into water bodies, further spreading resistance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global Implications<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is one of the largest producers and exporters of animal-derived food products.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Implications for Trade and Public Health:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Public Health:<\/strong> Curbing AMR through responsible antibiotic use and safeguarding medically important antimicrobials for human use.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade Compliance:<\/strong> Aligning with EU\u2019s antimicrobial regulations to sustain and expand access to premium export markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By aligning its standards with international norms, the country aims to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Maintain its global market position;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce AMR risks linked to food exports;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promote sustainable livestock farming practices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\"><strong>Way Forward:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>One Health Approach:<\/strong> India\u2019s strategy reflects the WHO\u2019s \u2018One Health\u2019 framework, which recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By curbing antibiotic misuse in agriculture, India hopes to preserve the efficacy of life-saving drugs for future generations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthen Enforcement:<\/strong> Implement and monitor prescription-only sales and crack down on illegal antibiotic distribution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Educate Stakeholders:<\/strong> Launch awareness campaigns for doctors, pharmacists, farmers, and the public.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Invest in Surveillance:<\/strong> Build robust systems to track antibiotic use and resistance trends across sectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promote Alternatives:<\/strong> Encourage vaccination, hygiene, and biosecurity in farming to reduce reliance on antibiotics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q]<\/strong> Will India\u2019s new antibiotic regulations in food animal production help tackle global antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and what challenges might hinder their enforcement?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/health\/india-strengthens-regulations-for-antibiotic-use-in-food-animal-production-amid-export-norms-global-amr-concerns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: DTE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/UPSC-Editorial-Analysis-19-July-2025.PDF.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India is stepping up its regulatory framework to address the use of antibiotics in food animal production, reflecting a broader international push to safeguard human health and ensure food safety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48633"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49515,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48633\/revisions\/49515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}