Pew Commends Senators Gillibrand and Feinstein for Working to Shine Light on Antibiotics Practices

Senate HELP Committee Neglects its Public Health Mission

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today released the Animal Drug User Fee Act for committee vote on Wednesday, which did not include provisions that would improve the Food and Drug Administration's annual reporting of antibiotic sales for use on industrial farms. The following statement should be attributed to Laura Rogers, project director, The Pew Charitable Trusts.

"We are extremely disappointed that the Senate committee charged with protecting our health has neglected its mission. The nation's public health leaders urged the committee to allow the Food and Drug Administration to collect more detailed information about the sale of antibiotics for food animal production. Antibiotic overuse in meat and poultry production is breeding superbugs that threaten human health, but we have no information that reveals in which animals and for which purposes these drugs are administered so widely. Without greater transparency, the overuse of these drugs may continue unchecked.

"We applaud Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for offering a proposal to shine a light on the use of antibiotics on industrial farms. We will work with them to ensure that the Senate includes these provisions in the final Animal Drug User Fee Act. As our public health leaders warn of the growing threat of 'nightmare bacteria,' we cannot miss this opportunity to ensure we are using these drugs wisely."

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life.

SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts