Antibiotic stewardship: not a burden for animal agriculture alone

Antibiotic stewardship: not a burden for animal agriculture alone

By Bill Hsu

Incidence of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections are higher than ever, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note that at least 23,000 people die each year as a direct result of these infections.  It’s no wonder then, that fears of rampant superbugs are fueling the debate about responsible antibiotic usage, and much of the talk centers around antibiotics used in animal agriculture.  The same fungi spores that bore our first antibiotics find other use in the food industry though.  After all, it does take Penicillium to make blue cheese or Roquefort.  Much like some cheeses though, the debate surrounding is chock full of holes. 

California Senate Bill 27 (SB27) was signed October 2015 to combat what was described as widespread and unregulated use of antibiotics in animal agriculture at low or sub-therapeutic doses to increase weight gain in animals before they went off to slaughter.  SB27 expressly prohibits use of medically important antibiotics in animals unless they were prescribed by a veterinarian.  It also bans the use of antibiotics used for growth-promotion. 

SB27 references the Food and Drug Administration’s Guidance for Industry Document #152 (GFI 152).  These are rules the FDA proposed to classify different antibiotics important in human medicine into three categories: important, highly important, and critically important.  The list is extensive and includes highly specific-use antibiotics, as well as broader spectrum antibiotics that you might get from your doctor if you have a small infection.  This list, however comprehensive, is mostly meaningless in trying to limit antibiotic usage in California’s food producing animals.

Antibiotics generally have multiple indications on their label.  Macrolides and tetracycline are both classes of antibiotics that make an appearance on GFI 152.  These classes of antibiotics are also some of the most commonly used antibiotics in animal agriculture.  Based off those two facts alone, you’d suspect that using these two classes of antibiotics to promote weight gain is rampant in animal agriculture, but you’d be wrong.  You see, these antibiotics have several indications on their label. 

When a licensed veterinarian writes a prescription, or in this case, assigns a feed directive for a farm, he or she is prescribing the same antibiotics we mentioned were used to promote weight gain in animals—albeit, in higher concentrations.  You read that right—when you’re treating animals to prevent disease in areas of exposure risk, you’re using the more of the same antibiotics you were trying to limit use of!

But does it even matter?  The Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals from the FDA highlights that the two largest classes of antibiotics used domestically in agriculture are tetracycline (which you or I can buy today) and ionophores, which serve no function at all in the human body.  Together, these two account for about 3/4^th of all antibiotics used in agriculture.  Our most valuable antibiotics, those classified as critically important in human medicine, including 3^rd generation Cephalosporins and Flouroquinolones, see the heaviest usage in healthcare.  In fact, each of these account for less than 1% of usage in animal agriculture.  The fear of prolific superbugs spelling our demise is driving action like SB27, but the CDC  spells it out clearly—most deaths related to antibiotic resistance happen in healthcare settings such as hospital and nursing homes.

Antibiotic stewardship is a responsibility we all share.  With the discovery of penicillin, antibiotics have shaped what we know of modern medicine.  Antibiotics are powerful tools, but have a very finite practical life.  Investment in alternative practices in animal agriculture, including vaccines and animal management can help draw down total usage numbers.  Physicians dialing back antibiotic scripts, except in the most important cases can help prevent abuse of our most essential antibiotics.  Finish your antibiotics as prescribed.  Don’t flush extra pills down the drain.  A concerted effort to managing antibiotics, from all fronts, is necessary to address growing threats of resistance.

Attention spans are short and opinions are heard louder than ever.  Shifting the focus solely to agriculture while ignoring healthcare data, or making only symbolic attempts at bandaging the very real problem of overuse of antibiotics, especially of those critically important in human medicine, mean we will someday lose our best tools in healthcare.  Remember that for the future, whether it’s a doctor’s office you find yourself in or the meat and cheese display at your local deli.   

Smartphone Technology: Changing How Consumers Think About Food

Smartphone Technology: Changing How Consumers Think About Food

By Adam Perestam

 

Smartphones such as the iPhone have altered how people live their daily lives. Smartphones have changed means of communication, transmission of information, financial transactions and everything in between. New applications for smartphones are being developed that will continue to revolutionize lives and change how people view and think about food. Smartphone capabilities will enable consumers, to scan food and receive a complete nutritional and chemical profile of the scanned product. By having such information, people will be able to make more informed, real time decisions about the food they purchase. The public’s common beliefs, concerns, and questions associated with food, such as safety, product mislabeling, and allergens will be challenged and impacted by this technology. 

Scio, is a handheld spectrometer that measures wavelengths of light, collecting information about the chemical makeup of food, pills, or plants. Results are wirelessly transmitted in real-time through an app on the user’s smartphone. A miniaturized sensor at the end of the Scio device sends data to the smartphone, connects to an online server, and deciphers how many calories, grams of fat, carbohydrates, proteins, and water content is contained in the product. The nutritional information can be used to reduce food mislabeling by comparing actual product content with the information on the product’s label. Dieters needing to limit or monitor specific nutritional elements will be able to easily and accurately keep track of their diet. Early investors in Scio will be able to purchase it for only $150 when released in the near future. 

 

Scio can scan a food product and give feedback about the foods chemical makeup within seconds.  Picture Credit: Dean Takahashi 

A second gadget, similar to Scio in that it is also a spectrometer, is the cradle and app for the iPhone. The cradle contains lenses and filters to work with the iPhone’s built-in camera. The camera is used as a sensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, and other molecules within food. The cradle and app is a potential life saving device for people with food allergies as the cradle can detect allergens such as peanuts, milk, soy, or wheat. The cradle in conjunction with the iPhone could allow for real-time tracking using the phone’s GPS data to map the spread of pathogens among products. Real-time tracking could be crucial in the event of a product recall, by being able to quickly and efficiently locate potentially contaminated products. In addition, tests are being conducted on field-crops to detect toxins in corn and soybeans. The spectrometer typically used for the application costs $50,000, however, the iPhone is able to replicate the same functions as the spectrometer with the help of the cradle lenses and filters for only $200.

 

The cradle and app can detect potential allergens within food. Picture credit: Brian T. Cunningham

Another developing technology is the use of sensors that can wirelessly detect hazardous gases and environmental pollutants and can be read by a smartphone. The creators are pursuing the integration of the sensors into the packages of perishable foods, such as meat or fish, and would be dubbed "smart packaging." The inclusion of smart packaging would allow people to detect possible food spoilage or contamination of products. Sensor technology would be useful for reducing the incidences of food poisoning, as people will know if their food has spoiled. Since, the sensors are inexpensive and can be read by a smartphone, integration can occur just about anywhere.

 

 

Modified sensors will detect when an easily spoilable product, like fish, has gone bad. 

That is, in case you couldn’t already tell. Picture credit: Christine Daniloff

A final application is Lapka. Lapka has a set of sensors that can measure moisture, radiation, and nitrate levels in organic material. It is designed to inform people about the invisible and unknown environment around them. Measuring the levels of nitrates in food is relevant because nitrates are commonly used in non-organic fertilizers. If a product being measured contains a high level of nitrates, especially produce, there is a high chance that it is not organic. The current public debate about knowing whether a food is organic or not can be addressed by Lapka simply inserting a probe into a product. Compared to the modified sensors and Scio, Lapka is currently on the market and retails for $200.

 

 

Use Lapka to know if your produce is truly organic.  Picture credit: Reign23.com

The number of food applications for smartphones are rapidly expanding and will change how people view and select food. The most important use for such technology will be to improve food safety. Each year, 1 in 6 Americans, 48 million people become sick from food borne illnesses. These statistics are only from surveys in the U.S., which is known for being a nation with strict food regulations. As the technology spreads globally, anyone with a smartphone will know when their food has spoiled. People who suffer from food allergies will be able to tell if the food they are about to consume or buy is safe for them. Recalls due to the presence of undeclared allergens will also be reduced. In addition, food mislabeling will decrease as people will be able to distinguish when a product truly contains what is stated on the nutrition facts panel and ingredients list. Knowing if a food is organic or not will finally be known, as this has become an ongoing topic of debate. These new smartphone applications have the power to alter life as we know it, leaving future generations to wonder how we ever survived without these capabilities.