The concern over antibiotic resistance in a number of human applied antibiotics is gaining significant attention in the medical community and with the consumers across the world. Consumers are demanding antibiotic free meat and milk products and are driving the changes that are taking place today on how we use these tools of health and production in livestock production systems.

The USA is currently poised to implement a Veterinary Feed Directive which assigns veterinarians the responsibility to prescribe medications and antibiotics that are delivered through feed and water. This FDA mandate was scheduled to go into effect in January 2017.

In October 2014, the Government of Canada released Antimicrobial Resistance and Use in Canada: A Federal Framework for Action. The Framework maps out a coordinated, collaborative federal approach for responding to the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In a couple of years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is also expected to qualify certain feed additives that will be regulated somewhere between drugs and feed ingredients. All of these efforts are intended to more judiciously manage the responsible use of antibiotics.

We all can learn from the lessons of the European move to less reliance on antibiotics about ten years ago. Problems that surfaced initially on complete removal of antibiotics from a prophylactic feed application, morphed into a more measured antibiotic application involving complete removal of growth promotion purpose coupled with complementary use of functional feed additives. Today a burgeoning feed additive market in Europe supports limited use of antibiotics and a safer food production environment. Whether one believes that agricultural use of antibiotics in livestock production has fostered an environment that spawns antibiotic resistant super bugs or that excessive prescribing of antibiotics in human medicine has dealt us the same fate, we must take steps to mitigate the potential of a looming healthcare crisis.

One such company that has stepped up to the challenge of reducing the markets reliance on antibiotics is Nutriad. Projecting confidence in providing a basket of species specific solutions, Nutriad utilizes innovation and creativity fueled by a desire to provide sustainable options to complement low or no use of traditional antibiotics. This is all accomplished by a strong reliance on human resource talent.

Nutriad’s platforms of Digestive Performance and Mycotoxin Management are leading the way in providing technological solutions that can serve to pave the way towards effective nutrition and animal health without always relying solely on antibiotics. Bundling various technologies allows the company to design and develop a range of products that will provide a unique approach to solving current animal health and nutrition challenges and serving the market responsibly. Using components and ingredients like yeast cell walls, organic acids, essential oils, botanicals and various medium chain fatty acids in combinations all contribute to building efficacious products that deliver natural results.

For over 50 years NUTRIAD has been delivering products and services across the world through a network of sales offices and distributors. These are supported by 4 application laboratories and 5 manufacturing facilities on 3 continents. Find out more at nutriad.com.