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New rules have been informally agreed by the Council of EU ministers on more responsible ways to produce, sell and use medicated feed in a bid to tackle the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
The preventative use of antibiotic-medicated feed will be banned, while the treatment of whole groups of animals when one is infected will be allowed only when the risk of spread is high.
In all cases prescriptions for medicated feed containing antibiotics should only be issued by a veterinarian after a proper physical examination and diagnosis.
MEPs pushed for extending new rules on feed, prepared by feed mills or professionals, to all animal medicines administered orally, whether via feed or water. It will also apply to ‘top-dressing’ in feeds prepared by farmers.
The EU has stated that this will ensure an efficient fight against antimicrobial resistance and that the European Medicines Agency would be consulted to establish the rules that would close existing loopholes.
In a statement, the Parliament’s lead negotiator Clara Eugenia Aguilera García said: "Responding to society’s concerns, we have managed today to replace disjointed rules dating back to 1990, with modern and uniform ones that will greatly increase the safety of medicated feed in the EU and will step up our fight against antimicrobial resistance.”
The agreed text still needs to be formally adopted by both the European Parliament and the Council of EU ministers.
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