FSSAI tightens antibiotic residue limits as microbes become resistant, treatments become more difficult: Report

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has tightened antibiotic residue norms for meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, poultry, eggs and aquaculture, according to the Economic Times report.

This means that the permitted levels of antibiotic residues have been lowered and more drugs have been placed on the watch list of food safety regulators.

This was done to address the growing problem of “superbugs,” which are bacteria and fungi that have continued to develop resistance to antibiotics and other drugs due to the overuse of the aforementioned drugs.

This is a huge health threat and India also has one of the highest rates of bacterial or fungal resistance to antimicrobial agents, according to the report.

What diseases are now at risk of becoming more difficult to treat due to antibiotic resistance?

The same microbes that cause diseases such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), blood infections, pneumonia and typhoid have developed resistance to commonly used antibiotics, making treatment more difficult, according to a report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

However, the new revised rules will come into force from 1 April 2025. The current residue limit has been set since 2011.

“If strictly enforced, the regulations will ensure safer food for consumers by setting stricter residue and contaminant limits for a variety of food products and help combat antimicrobial resistance,” the report quoted George Cheriyan, president of the Association for Consumer Protection (CPA). ), as they say.

Apart from this, FSSAI has also banned the use of antibiotics in honey production and reset the limit of chemicals ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol in wheat, wheat bran, barley, rye and coffee, the report said.