TUCKER, GA. — The International Poultry Council (IPC) announced that eight organizations are endorsing the council’s antimicrobial use stewardship principles. The principles guide poultry producers to avoid the use of antimicrobials, but when needed, the principles ensure that antimicrobials are being used with wise stewardship.

Four key principles include:

  • Taking a risk-based approach to understand specific use of antimicrobials,
  • Adopting management practices to reduce the need for antimicrobials,
  • Using antimicrobials only in compliance with national authorizations, and
  • Antimicrobials critically important for human medicine should be used for therapeutic purposes only and under a supervising veterinarian’s diagnosis and oversight.

The eight international organizations adopting IPC’s principles make up over 15% of global broiler production. They include the following:

  • Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA)
  • Federación Nacional de Avicultores de Colombia (FENAVI)
  • Poultry Federation of India (PFI)
  • Unione Nazionale Filiere Agroalimentari Carni e Uova (UNAITALIA)
  • Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association (TBA)
  • Vietnam Poultry Association (VIPA)
  • DABACO Group, a Vietnam-based company
  • Kenchic Limited, a Kenya-based company

“Critical actions for addressing antimicrobial use start at the farm,” said Robin Horel, IPC president. “We commend these organizations for acknowledging the importance of intentional antimicrobial use not only for the benefit of animals, but for the impact on human health by reducing the risk of resistant pathogens spreading around the world.”

This initiative was advanced through the Transformational Strategies for Farm Output Risk Mitigation (TRANSFORM), which is funded by USAID and led by Cargill Inc. TRANSFORM was created to increase access to safe and affordable animal-sourced nutrition by advancing animal health solutions.

“We know that human health is linked with the health of animals,” said Annie Kneedler, head of the TRANSFORM project. “When we take a systems-based approach to reconsidering our antibiotic use, we’re able to create an ecosystem where animal health improves, animal production increases and reliance on antibiotics decreases. These collective efforts contribute to broader global food security goals that can only be achieved by working together.”