Labelling products "Antibiotic-Free" has the potential to "mislead" the consumer by implying that meat or milk not marketed as such contains antibiotics.
This is according to the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance, which does not support the marketing of product on the basis of such claims.
Recent moves to label produce “Antibiotic-Free”, “Reared Without Antibiotics”, “No Antibiotics Ever” has proved to be controversial.
And while moves to minimise antibiotic use is welcomed by the industry, RUMA said such claims used for marketing purposes are "irrelevant and unhelpful".
The group said labelling products as "Antibiotic-Free" could mislead the consumer as there are already strict rules governing the administration of antibiotics to farm animals in the UK.
These rules are enforced by Government surveillance to guarantee that in meat or milk sold for consumption, antibiotics are not present above a harmless trace level set as a maximum residue limit.
'Unintended consequences'
If claims of "Antibiotic-Free", “Reared Without Antibiotics”, “No Antibiotics Ever” or similar mean the animals from which the milk or meat is derived have not been given antibiotics in their lifetime, this presents the risk of driving unintended consequences, RUMA explained.
The main concern is causing unnecessary suffering and associated welfare issues by withholding treatment from sick animals in order to comply with the label, when in fact the animals should be treated.
Equally, if sick animals are taken out of that supply chain and appropriately treated, then the wider system of production does still include antibiotic use, which may not be clear to consumers.
While the terms “Antibiotic-Free”, “Reared Without Antibiotics”, “No Antibiotics Ever” or similar may be used to differentiate produce in some countries where use of antibiotics for growth promotion is still permitted, RUMA said it is not relevant nor helpful in the EU where this practice has been banned since 2006.
RUMA is committed to ensuring antibiotics are used in animal production only when necessary, and when used that the right antibiotics are given in the most effective way possible to cure animal disease while minimising the risk of antibiotic resistance developing.
