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Chapter 8
Some thoughts on the potential of global
harmonization of antimicrobials
regulation with a focus on chemical
foodsafety
Jaap C. Hanekamp
1,2,3
1
University College Roosevelt, Middelburg, the Netherlands;
2
Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA,
United States;
3
HAN-Research, Zoetermeer, the Netherlands
8.1 Introduction
Setting scientific and policy standards that benchmark the risks and benefits of products intended for human consumption is
of great consequence for industry, policymakers, and consumers. The safety of food products consumed is more often than
not defined as chemical product safety, meaning that the food product is regarded as “safe”when man-made chemicals
such as antibiotics and/or pesticides are absent or only present at very low levels. Food safety is usually defined as such.
In this chapter, antimicrobials (antibiotics; the terms are used interchangeably henceforth) as a tool in the rearing of
food animals are discussed from the perspective of the consumer. As antimicrobials create benefits for the producers, the
risks to consumers that simultaneously benefit from antimicrobials use in terms of food abundance (food security) and
concomitant lower prices need to be understood and balanced effectively. We will thus focus on the topics of chemical
food safety, relevant policies, and the benefits and risks when dealing with global food safety and food security. As the
introductory statement to this book makes clear: “Today’s reality is that there are differences between countries that too
often lead to severe measures such as the destruction of huge quantities of food to protect consumers, lacking any scientific
justification, while a large part of the human population in the world suffers from undernourishment.”
This will be our leading perspective as to address the many-facetted aspects of antimicrobials in the world of food
production. Varied questions could be addressed here, but first let’s take a closer look at the actual use of antimicrobials.
Subsequently we will raise the issues that will be tackled in this chapter.
8.2 Global estimates of antimicrobials in food animalsdthe wrong and the right
trousers
Demand for food products containing animal is rising globally. That has many implications, and focusing on the use of
antimicrobials, it seems certain that total global use will be on the rise. Van Boeckel et al. (2015) made an estimation of the
current use of antimicrobials in food animals with an outlook on future use. These authors estimate that the global average
annual consumption of antimicrobials per kilogram of animals produced was 45 mg/kg for cattle, 148 mg/kg chicken, and
172 mg/kg for pigs in 2010. Starting from this baseline (2010), the authors estimate that between 2010 and 2030, the global
consumption of antimicrobials will increase by some 67%, from 63,151 !1560 to 105,596 !3605 tons. China, for
instance, is the largest consumer of livestock antimicrobials, some 14,500 tons in 2010 (Fig. 8.1A), according to van
Boeckel et al. In the United States, however, Domestic sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobials
approved for use in food-producing animals: decreased by 33% from 2016 through 2017, decreased by 43% from 2015
Ensuring Global Food Safety. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816011-4.00027-6
Copyright ©2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 175
