Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 7/24/17



The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released a series of recommendations to consider as part of the 2018 agriculture spending bill, including a provision on the use of antibiotics in animal production.

The sweeping report “strongly supports” enhanced research efforts to develop alternatives to antibiotics currently used to produce animals for human consumption. It asks USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) – among other suggestions –  to provide a closer look into the role of nutritional alternatives and feed additives containing bioactives and prebiotics can play with an aim to reduce the use of antibiotics in animals. The committee wants ARS to provide an update on such efforts when it submits its fiscal 2019 budget request.

The report also expressed concern about the long-term safety of imported meat products from Brazil in light of the “recent bribery scandal” involving JBS and reports of potentially contaminated raw intact beef. The panel asked for a report within 60 days of USDA’s actions regarding beef from Brazil starting from March 18, including recommendations on benchmarks Brazil will be required to meet moving forward.

The committee also recommended an appropriation of nearly $1.2 billion for salaries and expenses for ARS in 2018, 18 percent higher than the budget estimate for the fiscal year scheduled to end Sept, 30, 2018. It added that it “does not concur with the President’s budget request regarding the termination of research programs and laboratory closures.”

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