FDA proposes biomass method to calculate livestock antimicrobial use

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced Aug. 14 that it is publishing a paper proposing the use of a biomass denominator to adjust annual data on the amount of antimicrobials sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals in the U.S. This adjusted estimate will provide insight into broad shifts in the amount of antimicrobials sold for use in food-producing animals and will give the agency a more nuanced view of why sales increase or decrease over time in a manner that is specific to U.S. animal production. Read more…