Antibiotic sales drop 10 percent for livestock in 2016

For the first time on record, the Food and Drug Administration says antibiotic sales and distribution for food-producing animals declined. On Dec. 7, FDA released a summary report for 2016 on “Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals.” A key finding in the report was antibiotic sales and distribution in the U.S. dropped 10 percent from 2015 to 2016 for food-producing animals. Since FDA began collecting sales data in 2009, this is the first time that year-over-year sales of antimicrobials have declined. Read more…