Antibiotic usage in animals produced for food has been a controversial topic for the past several years. The concern has been centered on the concept that antibiotic use in food animals may induce antibiotic resistance in potential food-borne pathogens for humans.
Cell-culture technology will generate more headlines than protein for the foreseeable future. It is impossible to ignore the attention that the technology has garnered in the popular press and in the food and agriculture sector.
USDA Secretary Perdue and FDA Commissioner Gottlieb have released a joint statement on the regulation of cell-cultured food products from cell lines of livestock and poultry.
Typically meat plants are exempt from FDA regulations; however, under certain conditions some meat plants will need to comply with parts of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
The FDA representatives in attendance were instrumental in the development and writing of the FDA's Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food Rule.
