Campaign groups call for UK schools and NHS caterers to do more to stop antibiotic overuse in farming

12 Oct 2023 --- Hospital and school caterers have come under fire for not taking adequate measures to curb farmers from overusing antibiotics in livestock. Activist groups say that such negligence can amplify the risks associated with antibiotic resistance which might render human medicines useless.

A recent report by the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics (ASOA) revealed that major UK catering firms, serving the NHS, schools, care homes, and prisons have either “weak or non-existent” policies on antibiotic use.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously raised alarms, urging farmers to desist from utilizing potent antibiotics on animals due to the consequent severe risks to human health.

Antibiotic overuse fuels health crisis
The massive use of antibiotics in industrial animal husbandry is one of the reasons for the increase in resistance, along with infection in hospitals and improper use of antibiotics. 

Traditionally, antibiotics have been consistently administered to farmed animals as a precautionary measure against diseases.

With the escalating menace of “superbugs” - strains of bacteria that can no longer be treated by certain drugs, there is a worldwide move to limit antibiotic use both in human medication and farming. 

A recent study in the Lancet, estimated that antibiotic overuse is resulting in over 1.25 million deaths annually due to the emergence of new superbugs.

In the UK, the annual death toll from antibiotic-resistant infections surpasses 7,500. This figure is expected to rise, and there are growing concerns that new medicines may not be developed rapidly enough to combat these emerging infections.

Catering industry lags in antibiotic control
The ASOA report pointed out that the catering companies for schools, universities, colleges, and healthcare establishments are “lagging well behind” the antibiotic-use standards established by supermarkets and other sectors in the commercial food industry. 

Among the ten leading caterers supplying the NHS, many either lacked a public antibiotic policy or did not prohibit routine antibiotic use. None of the companies collect any data on antibiotic use in their supply chain.

The overuse of antibiotics in human medicine and in livestock has contributed to large increases in antibiotic resistance. Consultant Microbiologist from University Hospitals of Leicester, in England, Dr Giuditta Sanna, says: “I am shocked to learn that while my colleagues and I are dealing with patients with untreatable life-threatening infections and are making so much effort to limit our own use of antibiotics, the catering companies that provide NHS and school meals are doing such a poor job of controlling antibiotic use in their supply chains.”

“They should not be permitting routine antibiotic use in food-producing animals, just to compensate for the unhygienic conditions in which many of these animals are kept.” 

Call for action
The Alliance calls for robust government standards on public procurement to ensure higher antibiotic standards for school and hospital food suppliers. Cóilín Nunan, the Alliance’s scientific advisor, says, “The current situation shows a lack of joined-up thinking.” 

The public sector caterers should also publish antibiotic policies and adopt transparent procurement strategies. The UK contract catering industry is a substantial market worth more than US$5.4 billion, serving some of the most vulnerable populations in society.

Intensive Care consultant and founder of the UK Sepsis Trust, Dr Ron Daniels, states: “We demand action from all stakeholders, with the wasteful use of antibiotics for routine prevention in intensive farming of an infuriatingly low-hanging fruit.” 

By Sichong Wang