Aquaculture Stewardship Council proposes new single farm standard for several species

The Aquatic Stewardship Council, an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides third-party certification and labelling programs recently developed eleven ASC standards covering 17 species group. ASC has been working to move to a unified ASC Farm Standard that would apply to all farmed seafood species. The Farm Standard is split into three principles: 1) legal compliance, 2) environmental impacts, and 3) social impacts. An ongoing consultation running from March 8 to May 7 is seeking feedback on environmental indicators. Criterion 2.16 relates to responsible use of antibiotics. In the current draft, the document proposes that participants “not use any antibiotics … as growth promoters” and “only use antibiotic and other veterinary drugs under prescription”. However, critically important antimicrobials (as defined by the WHO) may be used for specific bacterial pathogens when there is no alternative treatment. Furthermore, the producers will also be asked to maintain information on diagnosis, products applied (including dose, duration, and administration method), whether antimicrobial susceptibility test results have been obtained or alternative strategies to the antimicrobials chosen were explored.

Alliance to Save our Antibiotics webinar on Soil Assoc. Certified Farms' antibiotic use

In early March, the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics held a webinar on “Farm Antibiotic Use and Husbandry: Better Understanding through Data.” As farms in the U.K. have seen a 48% reduction in tonnes of antibiotics sold in 2019 compared to 2014, the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics wanted to document that it was possible to reduce antibiotic use in these settings even further. Towards these ends, a survey was organized over a year-long period from 2018 to 2019 and sent to Soil Association Organic-certified organic farms. The convenience survey engaged over 200 farms that raised dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Overall, Soil Association-certified farms had four times lower the UK average, and farms with pigs had 77 times lower antibiotic use than the UK average. The Alliance’s full report will be published later. A recording of the webinar is also available here.

U.S. consumers believe antibiotic-free labels are important

In the United States, meat products often include various marketing labels. With groups like Consumer Reports analyzing the standards (e.g., American Grassfed, USDA Organic, American Humane Certified, and Animal Welfare Approved) behind such labels, a new survey has asked consumers about antibiotic-free labels. The results indicate that only a quarter of respondents believe the labels “most of the time.” Two-thirds of those surveyed were unaware that antibiotics were used in food animal production and unable to put a number on the death toll from drug-resistant infections each year. Another key finding is that more than three-quarters of consumers want producers to “release independent verified data.” Importantly though, three quarters were willing to pay more for meat products if it meant that safety concerns were addressed better, with nearly 60% willing to pay 10 cents per pound more, and nearly 20% willing to pay 50 cents per pound more. It also turned out that this willingness to pay 50 cents or more per pound includes a broadly diverse range of Americans, from those who shopped at farmer markets to those who shop weekly at Walmarts as well as those who self-identified themselves as progressive.

U.S. sees continued increase in antibiotic pesticides

The U.S. Geological Survey has been collecting data on the estimated annual agricultural pesticide use, which includes antibiotic pesticides. Antibiotics like streptomycin have seen their use increase from 7,700 kg in 2000 to 33,000 kg in 2018. This use corresponds to a 328 percent increase. There has been a similar story borne out for oxytetracycline, where use has increased by 113 percent. Oxytetracycline use increased from 9,700 kg to 20,700 kg between 2000 and 2018. In previous years, the media has reported on authorizations that would permit the spraying of antibiotics in citrus groves. However, the data before 2016 indicates that this increasing use is not just coming from citrus.

U.S. Food Safety Analytics Collaboration investigates priority sources for foodborne illnesses

Foodborne illnesses are a major cause of global morbidity and mortality. Even in the United States, nine million people fall ill from foodborne illnesses every year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S.  Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) form an interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) to estimate which sources cause foodborne illnesses. This interagency collaboration has published a recent report of their findings. As there are many potential sources, the analyses focus on four priority bacterial pathogens: Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157; Listeria monocytogenes; and Campylobacter. While more than three-quarters of E. coli came from vegetable row crops (e.g., leafy greens) and beef; Salmonella sources were much more diverse. More than three-quarters of Salmonella was attributed to seven food categories (e.g., chicken, eggs, turkey, pork, and seeded vegetables).

FarmResist project in Thailand seeks to characterize the occupational risk of AMR in farmers

A published research protocol for an upcoming cross-sectional study in Thailand details the researchers’ approaches to characterize the occupational risk and prevalence of AMR in farmers working on small poultry and pig farms versus non-farmers using phenotypic and genotypic techniques. Poultry and pig farming make up significant proportions of the agricultural sector in Thailand, and antibiotic usage in animal feed for both species has been documented, including the use of colistin in pigs. The researchers seek to characterize the risk of gut colonization in farmers by colistin-resistant and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) as well as the risk factors associated with higher prevalence of AMR at pig and poultry farms. Fecal samples will be taken from farmers and individuals who do not work with animals to establish the risk associated with pig and poultry farming, and samples will also be taken from farm animals and small wild rodents to characterize the potential spread to non-treated animals. Samples will be cultured and examined for phenotypic and genotypic resistance. In addition to these elements, the investigators will administer a questionnaire to participating farmers including questions on socioeconomic information, personal and occupational antibiotic use, and work habits as well as a further knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey on antibiotic use to these farmers and other relevant stakeholders. Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance from the phenotypic and genomic sampling portion of the study will be combined with these findings to identify risk factors and to develop mitigation strategies to reduce the prevalence of AMR at these farms.

FAO spotlight on aquaculture and antibiotic resistance

As a result of an agreement between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Asian Fisheries Society (AFS), the organizations have published papers in a special peer-reviewed volume of the Asian Fisheries Science (AFS) journal. The articles cover several elements of the One Health elements of AMR, and its implications for and from aquaculture. For instance, in discussing the potential sources of resistance genes in aquaculture, an article by Karunasagar and colleagues at FAO highlight the baseline prevalence of AMR in undisturbed environments and how antibiotic residues accumulated in aquaculture operations can flow into aquatic bodies.

In a separate article, Peñarubia and colleagues also consider whether reprocessed waste products from fish might be recycled and reprocessed into fish feed. By mincing raw byproducts of fish processing (not suitable for humans) with an additive preservative and an organic acid, researchers found that these remains could be repurposed as fish feed. Moreover, because organic acids such as formic acid and the free amino acids in the silage mixture have antimicrobial properties, the use of feed repurposed in this manner may potentially reduce the use of antibiotics and promote better immune systems among fish. Since FAO adopted a resolution in 2015 on AMR, it has worked on addressing gaps in AMR and towards its four major focus areas: 1) improve awareness on AMR and related threats; 2) develop capacity for surveillance and monitoring of AMR and AMU (antimicrobial use) in food and agriculture; 3) strengthen governance related to AMU and AMR in food and agriculture; and 4) promote good practices in food and agricultural systems and the prudent use of antimicrobials.

Strategies for mitigating risks from intensive food animal production

A new review published by Gilbert, et al. lays out several of the drivers of livestock intensification, as well as efforts to mitigate the zoonotic disease risks and rise of antimicrobial resistance from these practices. While LMICs are expected to see significant increases in intensive production, these industries may not be as well equipped to counter its accompanying risks. Moreover, the paper highlights that major data gaps pertaining to animal burden of disease and AMR undermine efforts to implement risk mitigation. The findings are significant, as estimates suggest that between 2010 and 2030, antibiotic consumption in food animal production will increase by 67%. Indeed, a third of this increase is attributable to changes in farming practices, like intensive production. The efforts outlined in this review include investment to support veterinary and health services and regulatory authorities.

Global trends for antimicrobial usage in aquaculture published

Researchers have published global estimates of antimicrobial usage in aquaculture between the years 2017 and 2030, finding that global antimicrobial consumption may increase by as much as 33% between 2017 and 2030. In 2017, according to the study, aquaculture antimicrobial consumption was nearly 80% higher than that of human antimicrobial consumption. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest share (93.8%) of this consumption with China alone accounting for more than 57% of all global consumption in 2017. Broken down by produce, catfish accounted for the highest antimicrobial usage in aquaculture, followed by trout, tilapia, shrimp, and salmon. While the projections suffer from a lack of point prevalence data, researchers conclude that the findings have large implications for antimicrobial resistance and the need for antimicrobial stewardship programs in the aquaculture industry. Indeed, global aquaculture currently accounts for 8% of all animal protein in the human diet, and per capita consumption of aquaculture-produced seafood is increasing faster than both dairy and meat consumption.