Responsible use of antibiotics "as little as possible but as much as needed"
Animal health and welfare standards in the European Union are among the highest in the world. This is ensured by strict EU regulations, but also by the sector’s own effort to continuously improve production conditions with regard to resource conservation and animal welfare.
Reduced use of antibiotics as part of the social pillar
Within the social pillar of sustainability, the European Poultry sector, works to deliver amongst the highest standard of quality in the world. This is a work of constant improvement of production methods that ensure taking care of animal welfare and health aspects.
One essential topic the sector complies with is to reduce the use of antibiotics with poultry species. Although antibiotics remain an essential tool for guaranteeing the welfare and health of farm animals, this does not mean their use should not be prudent and rational. This is why the EU poultry sector is fully committed to a responsible use of antibiotics which means to use “as little as possible but as much as necessary”.
This objective is included within the Farm to Fork Strategy, as part of the European Green Deal, aiming at reducing the sales of antimicrobials for farmed animals by 50% by 2030.
The core reason for the use of antibiotics
Ensuring the health of animals is top priority for the European poultry sector. Poultry species are the heart and core of the whole sector, and while the use of antibiotics is limited to necessary cases, they are sometimes the only solution to guarantee the well being of the animal in order to fight certain infections.
Nevertheless, antibiotics in Europe are never used as a preventive method and only under veterinarian prescription. The objective of the sector is to establish other preventive measures to ensure the health of the animal, such as tracking of antimicrobial use and assessing bacteria’s antibiotic resistance, while promoting good practices, all of which contribute to improved animal health.
Such prevention methods are even being applied to breeding selection of species: healthier and more robusts specimens are factors playing an important role in the breeding process and selection, in order to avoid illness in the animal and reduce the cases of antibiotics use.
No antibiotics residues in poultry meat
Although antibiotics are used in case of necessity to guarantee the health of the animal, consumers can be sure that no residue of medicament will be found in poultry commercialized meat.
When the use of antibiotics to treat the sick bird is unavoidable, a period of time is ensured before slaughter to guarantee no trace of the medicament remains in the meat sale for consumption. This lack of residues is also checked in slaughterhouses, ensuring complete safety for consumers.
Remarkable progresses all over the EU
The EU poultry sector has been making remarkable progress in the reduction of the use of antibiotics following the European Commission’s One Health Action Plan Against Antimicrobial Resistanceaimed at mitigating antimicrobial resistance.
According to the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption, overall annual sales of antimicrobials for food-producing animals in Europe shows a decline of antimicrobials in food-producing animals in Europe by more than 43% between 2011 and 2020.
More specifically, in the participating countries of this campaign, this decline shows that:
- In Germany, overall annual sales of antimicrobials declined by 60.4% between 2011 and 2020
- Between 2011 and 2020, sales of veterinary antimicrobial medicines decreased by 44% in France. The initiative by the major production sectors and veterinarians to decrease the sales of antimicrobial agents in food-producing animals has paid off.
- In Spain, sales of polymyxins destined for food-producing animals decreased by 90.3% from 2017 to 2020 and by 97.5% from 2014 to 2020.
Promotion programme to inform about the Sustainable European Poultry Sector
SUST EU POULTRY is a two-year promotion campaign supported by the European Commission and launched by three national poultry associations (from Germany, France and Spain) and their European umbrella association (from Germany, France and Spain) with the main goal of raising awareness among European consumers and professionals about the sustainability of the poultry sector and a product of great quality.
You can also learn more about sustainability of the sector by downloading our press kit here.
