Canada to further reduce the use of antimicrobials in chicken

Ottawa – Chicken Farmers of Canada has announced its strategy to eliminate the preventive use of Category II antimicrobials of human importance in chickens.

In a statement the organization says it has now successfully eliminated the use of Category I antibiotics.

The antibiotics have been used for disease prevention.

The Chicken Farmers of Canada says it has a strategy planned and will cut the use of Category II antibiotics by the end of 2018. Its next goal is to eliminate the use of Category III antibiotics by the end of 2020.

In the statement, the organization says it “will maintain the use of ionophores (those antimicrobials not used in human medicine) along with antibiotics for therapeutic purposes to maintain the health and welfare of birds.”

The Chicken Farmers of Canada also add that “Canadian chicken is free of antbiotic residues, and has been for decades.” It adds that “Canada has strict regulations with respect to antibiotic use and withdrawal times to ensure that chicken reaching the marketplace does not contain residues, which is monitored by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency,” says the statement.

The antimicrobial use strategy, say the Chicken Farmers of Canada, “is consistent with the Canadian government’s Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance and Use.”