Food News

According to a press release by the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL), the quantities of antibiotics dispensed for veterinary applications increased slightly in 2020.

A total of about 70 tonnes of antibiotics were dispensed to veterinarians in Germany last year. As in previous years, penicillins (278 t) and tetracyclines (148 t) accounted for the bulk, followed by sulfonamides, macrolides and polypeptides.

An increase was recorded for fluoroquinolines, a group that is also increasingly used in the treatment of humans. The use of antibiotics in factory farming is held responsible as one reason for the increasing development of resistance of microorganisms to the active substances worldwide. It is therefore gratifying that the use of antibiotics in livestock farming in Germany has declined significantly over the past decade.

YOUR PLUS: The AGROLAB GROUP's food and feed laboratories, in particular AGROLAB LUFA in Kiel and AGROLAB Italia, have developed comprehensive accredited monitoring packages with which residues of veterinary medicines in meat, fish, milk, eggs and products made from them can be detected highly sensitively and quantitatively. In Kiel, we also test medicated feeds for compliance with the respective manufacturer's specifications.  

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger