From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria and Food Animals Description: Audio interview by GAO staff with John Neumann, Director, Natural Resources and Environment Related GAO Work: GAO-17-192: Antibiotic Resistance: More Information Needed to Oversee Use of Medically Important Drugs in Food Animals Released: March 2017 [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. It's March 2017. Antibiotic resistant bacteria are one of the biggest threats to global health, making an estimated 2 million people sick every year in the United States alone. There is strong evidence that using antibiotics in the animals we eat such as cattle, poultry, and swine causes some of this antibiotic resistance. A team led by John Neumann, a director in GAO's Natural Resources and Environment team, recently looked at federal government oversight of antibiotic use in meat and poultry products. Sarah Kaczmarek sat down with John to talk about what they found. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] How's the government managing how much antibiotics farmers and veterinarians use to treat the animals that we eat like cattle and poultry? [ John Neumann: ] Well, first as a backdrop, farmers and others are using antibiotics in a variety of ways including to control or prevent disease, as well as to promote faster weight gain in food animals. Since we last looked at this issue is 2011, federal agencies have taken a number of steps to better manage the use of antibiotics in the food supply. For example FDA, which regulates the sale and distribution of antibiotics, revised its guidance to industry to increase veterinary supervision for medically important antibiotics. Those are used both to treat human and animal infections. Also USDA, which is responsible for the safety of meat and poultry, took steps to gather additional data on antibiotic use at the farms. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] What do you see here as the risks to consumers of too much or a lot of antibiotic use in the food supply? [ John Neumann: ] Well there's growing evidence that there's a link between overuse of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance both in humans and animals. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] So these challenges can't be something the U.S. alone is struggling with. What have other countries done that the U.S. could adapt or apply here? [ John Neumann: ] Well we looked at several other countries that have faced similar challenges to the U.S. and managing the use of antibiotics in the food supply. For example countries like Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands which have all taken steps to increase their oversight of the use of antibiotics. For example, they've been collecting farm specific data and they've established targets to reduce the use of antibiotics. It was interesting for us when we visited the Netherlands to go to what they considered to be a model pig farm where they show producers how to use alternative farming practices to reduce reliance on antibiotics and yet allow the animals to remain healthy. But the U.S. industry and the federal government officials we spoke with were a little skeptical about whether or not these practices would apply to the U.S. in all cases. For example establishing specific targets to reduce the use of antibiotics, they felt could have unintended consequences on animal welfare for example. And given the size and scale of the U.S. production, they weren't sure that these practices would be as applicable. However there are a number of U.S. producers that have taken steps to eliminate antibiotics in their foods. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] Those are some interesting examples. So when a foodborne illness breaks out, is the government actually going out to farms that were the source of the problem and conducting an investigation? [ John Neumann: ] In short, no. FDA and USDA have not gone on the farms to investigate the source of the foodborne illness as of yet. We found that they had limited authority to do so and required permission from the farmers to be able to get on the farm. So we made a recommendation to those agencies that they work with stakeholders to come up with a framework when an on-farm investigation is needed. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] Did your report make other recommendations as well? [ John Neumann: ] We did, we also recommended that FDA and USDA take additional steps, develop metrics to know if they're achieving their goals of collecting better data on antibiotic use. [ Sarah Kaczmarek: ] What do you see here as the bottom line of this report, especially for consumers of meat and poultry products? [ John Neumann: ] Consumers should stay informed about antibiotic use in their food supply and hopefully with additional efforts from USDA and FDA, food producers and others will know how to use antibiotics judiciously. [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] To learn more, visit GAO.gov and be sure to tune in to the next episode of GAO's Watchdog Report for more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office.