WASHINGTON – The US Food and Drug administration is accepting registrations for an upcoming meeting to discuss proposed plans to collect on-farm antimicrobial use in animals raised for food. The meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 30, will include representatives from the US Dept. of Agriculture and the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Registration is free, and the meeting is open to the public.

FDA, USDA and CDC first announced the meeting in February. The meeting is FDA’s progress report on Guidance #213, which is FDA’s plan for judicious use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals. The agency plans to use a variety of metrics to assess the impacts of Guidance #213 over time, such as existing drug sales, resistance and additional on-farm data. FDA now believes that use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals does not represent judicious use.


“Gathering information on the way medically important antibiotics are used is essential to measuring the impact of the FDA’s judicious use strategy as outlined in Guidance for Industry #213,” FDA said. “On-farm use data collection is consistent with objectives outlined in the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to enhance monitoring of antimicrobial-resistance patterns, as well as antimicrobial sales, usage, and management practices, at multiple points in the production chain for food-producing animals and retail meat.”

A final agendaand additional detailsabout the meeting are available.