The Use of Drugs in Food Animals: Benefits and Risks (Nrc Report)

The use of drugs in food animal production has resulted in benefits throughout the food industry. However, their use has also raised public health safety concerns.

This book is based on reports commissioned by the Panel on Animal Health, Food Safety and Public Health (a joint activity of the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine). It provides an overview of why and how drugs are used in the major food-producing animal industries - poultry, dairy, beef, swine, and aquaculture. The book discusses the prevalence of human pathogens in foods of animal origin, and addresses the transfer of resistance in animal microbes to human pathogens and the resulting risk of human disease.