Use of Drugs in Food Animals: Benefits and Risks

The use of drugs in food animal production has resulted in benefits throughout the food industry; however, their use has also raised public health safety concerns.

The Use of Drugs in Food Animals provides an overview of why and how drugs are used in the major food-producing animal industries--poultry, dairy, beef, swine, and aquaculture. The volume discusses the prevalence of human pathogens in foods of animal origin. It also addresses the transfer of resistance in animal microbes to human pathogens and the resulting risk of human disease.

The committee offers analysis and insight into these areas:

• Monitoring of drug residues. The book provides a brief overview of how the FDA and USDA monitor drug residues in foods of animal origin and describes quality assurance programs initiated by the poultry, dairy, beef, and swine industries.
• Antibiotic resistance. The committee reports what is known about this controversial problem and its potential effect on human health.

The volume also looks at how drug use may be minimized with new approaches in genetics, nutrition, and animal management.