New York - The latest trend in healthy cuisine is meat raised without the use of antibiotics. At a breakfast briefing for reporters held today at the Savoy Restaurant in New York City, food industry representatives teamed with scientists and physicians, including the Chair of the Department of Medicine at New York University Medical School, Martin Blaser, M.D., to explain why antibiotic use in farm animals poses a risk to human health. The problem with antibiotic use in meat is its link to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance in humans.

"Recent bioterrorist attacks have increased America's awareness of the importance of having effective antibiotics available to protect public health," said Tamar Barlam, M.D., an infectious disease physician with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, based in Washington, DC. "This growing trend of antibiotic resistance is worrisome, as it reduces the number of drugs in our medical arsenal that can be used to combat infectious disease."

"An estimated 70 percent of the antibiotics used in the United States are fed to healthy farm animals," said Rebecca Goldburg, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Environmental Defense, based in New York City. "These drugs are used in healthy farm animals to promote slightly faster growth and to prevent the spread of disease under the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions common on factory farms."

But some meat producers say this use of antibiotics is unnecessary.

"It is entirely possible for meat to be raised economically and safely without antibiotics," said Bill Niman, CEO of Niman Ranch, a producer of antibiotic-free lamb, beef and pork based in Oakland, California. "And now the world is becoming aware that it is much healthier for humans as well." Niman Ranch supplied antibiotic-free pork for the breakfast briefing featuring a variety of antibiotic-free meats.

The Food and Drug Administration has been so concerned about bacteria in humans resistant to related antibiotics used in animals that it attempted to ban a class of antibiotics-fluoroquinolones, the class of drugs to which Cipro(R) belongs-from use in poultry production. One manufacturer, Abbott Laboratories, immediately dropped their fluoroquinolone drug, SaraFlox(R) from the poultry market. The other manufacturer, Bayer Corporation, is contesting FDA's proposal, with the result that Bayer's fluoroquinolone, Baytril(R) remains on the market for use in poultry.

In a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 20 percent of ground meat bought in supermarkets was contaminated with Salmonella, 84 percent of which was found resistant to at least one antibiotic. Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne illness, causing 1.3 million cases and 500 deaths per year.

In the meantime, prominent members of the food service industry are doing what they can to respond to the increasing public demand for antibiotic-free meats. Recently, chain restaurants TGI Fridays(R) and Chipotle(R) began offering beef and pork, respectively, raised without the routine use of antibiotics. And antibiotic-free meats are appearing more frequently in grocery stores, such as Fairway and Food Emporium in New York City. For a list of places to purchase antibiotic-free meat, visit www.KeepAntibioticsWorking.com/guide.

"When you are serving food to your customers, you want to serve the highest quality, healthiest products," said Savoy Chef Peter Hoffman. "Serving antibiotic free meat is one way of making sure that your customers get the best."

The breakfast was sponsored by "Keep Antibiotics Working: The Campaign Against Antibiotic Overuse," a coalition of concerned health, consumer, agricultural, environmental and other advocacy groups dedicated to eliminating a major cause of antibiotic resistance - the inappropriate use of antibiotics in farm animals. For more information, visit the KAW website at www.KeepAntibioticsWorking.com. To find out more about the Bayer Corporation's failure to comply with the FDA ban on fluoroquinolones in poultry production, go to www.BayerWatch.com.

###