Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 10/30/15


The pork industry has taken Subway to task in light of the company’s announcement  that it is transitioning to serving only protein from animals that have never received antibiotics across all of its 27,000-plus U.S. restaurants in early 2016.

“Subway is not saying 'no’ just to those antibiotics used in human medicine. Subway isn’t saying 'use antibiotics only when animals are sick.’ Subway is saying no antibiotics ever – even when animal health and safety could be at risk. We think that such a policy could compromise the safety of our food system. Sick animals in the food system are not a good idea. Healthy animals help farmers produce safe food,” according to a full-page ad in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal sponsored by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the Pork Checkoff. “How will a hog farmer react to a fast-moving disease outbreak that could have been prevented with medicine administered in time? The potential for thousands of animals to unnecessarily die or suffer is a real possibility. These are the consequences that farmers will have to face.”

The ad was signed “America’s Pig Farmers” and directs readers to www.porkcares.org, a website of the We Care initiative, which was launched in 2008 as a joint effort of the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council and state organizations representing farmers.
Subway’s move is a departure from recent announcements of other major retail and foodservice companies, which supported Guidance 209 and 213 and Veterinarian Feed Directive (VFD) compliance and what is seen as the responsible use of antimicrobials.

“America’s pork farmers support the responsible use of antibiotics, but Subway’s decision on antibiotics use in the production of pork, beef and poultry – and urging others to make the same decision – will leave farmers without any solutions to treat animals that are sick and suffering. That’s immoral and inhumane, and farmers aren’t willing to do that. Enough is enough,” according to an NPPC statement emailed to Meatingplace.

Pork Board announces antibiotics panel

Meanwhile, the National Pork Board has announced the seven members of its blue ribbon panel on antibiotics, an outcome of the Pork Checkoff’s stewardship plan first defined in June.
The new, independent third-party panel includes experts with specific experience and knowledge in antibiotic practices or consumer marketing.

The panel’s call to action is to review the status of antibiotic use in the pork industry and advise National Pork Board efforts in prioritizing research and producer education programs. The independent panel will identify opportunities for improvement in current antibiotic practices and offer guidance in how to improve antibiotic stewardship in the pork industry. The panel members are:
• Mike Apley, food animal production medicine, Kansas State University
• Bonnie Buntain, coordinator of the veterinary medical and surgical program, University of Arizona
• Mike Chaddock, associate dean, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University 
• Chris Cochran, senior manager, food sustainability, Walmart
• Jim McCollum, protein purchasing manager, Independent Purchasing Cooperative, Inc.
• Justin Ransom, senior director, quality systems U.S., McDonald’s
• Steve Solomon, public health consultant and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s office of antimicrobial resistance

“The science is complicated, but we do know how to improve the use of antibiotics in both human and animal medicine,” Steven Solomon, a public health consultant and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s office of antimicrobial resistance, said in a news release. “We need to better translate complex information about antibiotic use for the benefit of the food consumer and the medical community.”

The National Pork Board has defined a three-point plan of action focused on five research priorities, shaping educational outreach to pig farmers and broadly sharing information with the retail and foodservice industries and pork consumers.
• Research – Investing $750,000 in new research projects that span five priorities intended to provide data for animal and public health outcomes (pig health/welfare, human health/safety, environmental impact and pork quality).
• Education – Updating the Pork Quality Assurance Plus farmer certification program in 2016 and investing up to $400,000 in education and awareness programs to ensure pig farmers understand and adopt new Food and Drug Administration rules for the use of medically important antibiotics (to treat human illness) in feed and water. 
• Communications – Gathering industry leaders for meetings on responsible antibiotic use and sharing the American pork industry’s story of continuous improvement with producers and consumer media through outreach, byline articles and advertisements.

NPPC said the Wall Street Journal ad is one of multiple tactics that the industry plans to employ in its ongoing public communications campaign over the issue of antibiotics use.

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