South Korea may ban use of antibiotics in animal feed - Updated

This story was updated at 12:30 pm CDT Wednesday

South Korea plans to ban the mixing of antibiotics with animal feed starting in July, according to the Korean Yonap news agency. The action is an effort to raise consumer trust in the safety of livestock products, government officials said.

South Korea allowed 44 types of antibiotics to be mixed with feed before 2005, but officials have gradually cut the number back.

The antibiotic ban has not yet been communicated to South Korea trading partners. “South Korea hasn’t done anything yet and the news story is speculation,” according to Nick Giordano, vice president and counsel, international affairs, National Pork Producers Council. “Regardless, we continue to insist that any sanitary/phytosanitary restrictions, including those related to antibiotics, must be based on sound science.”

Scientific evidence of risk to human health from administering antibiotics to livestock has not been confirmed. “Numerous peer-reviewed risk assessments show that the risk to public health from animal uses of antibiotics is negligible,” according to NPPC President Doug Wolf, a pork producer from Lancaster, Wis. “Producing high-quality, safe food is a top priority of U.S. pork producers, who use antibiotics responsibly under the supervision of a veterinarian to keep animals healthy.”

Source: NPPC, Yonap news agency