FDA Action on Cephalosporins A Good Start

January 9, 2012
Health Care Without Harm Press Release
Contact: Eileen Secrest  540-376-4495

FDA Action on Cephalosporins “A Good Start," Health Advocacy Group Says, But Agency Needs to Do More

Reduction of Nontherapeutic Use of Antibiotics in Animals Important to Public Health, Says HCWH

Reston, VA — Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) praised the Food and Drug Administration’s new proposed rule to limit the use of cephalosporin, a class of antibiotics, in food animal production. However, the agency needs to follow through and make this rule final, said the health advocacy organization, as well as address other antibiotics being used in animal food production.


"Our industrialized food system is fraught with problems such as the overuse of non-therapeutic antibiotics which can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance, and FDA is on the right track to try to limit food production practices that threaten public health."

— Lucia Sayre
Co-Coordinator, HCWH
Healthy Food in Health Care Program

“Reducing non-therapeutic antibiotic use in food animals is critical to the preservation of these medicines for human use, and we are very encouraged that the FDA has brought this rule forward,” said Gary Cohen, president and executive director of Health Care Without Harm. “We hope that this time, the agency will listen to the science and finalize this rule, rather than bow to pressure from industry to let it die.”

Cohen refers to a 2008 attempt by the agency to regulate cephalosporins, which was never finalized. Coming on the heels of a December 2011 notice by the FDA to withdraw its opposition to certain approved uses of penicillin and tetracyclines intended for use in feeds for food-producing animals, many health professionals have expressed concern.

The discovery of antibiotics is one of the most life-saving of all medical discoveries. There is a limited number of classes of these antibiotics, and the increasing reports of resistance of many bacteria to antibiotics has been blamed partially on the low-dose, non-therapeutic use of these antibiotics in food animal agriculture.

The rule would restrict the non-approved use of cephalosporins in industrial farming. The FDA has approved cephalosporins to treat some infections in food animals, but other, non-approved uses of the drugs are widespread. Antibiotics are commonly used in agriculture to promote fast growth and to compensate for overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of industrialized farming.

Cephalosporins has become a vital class of antibiotics for treating people suffering from bacterial meningitis; infections associated with cancer; and infections of the bone, urinary tract and upper respiratory system. These drugs are especially important for treating children; unlike other antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines, they carry no warnings or precautions for use in children.

Hospital food service operations are among the largest institutional food providers that are seeking to purchase and serve meats from animals raised without the routine use of antibiotics. Many food services report that these products are in short supply, and when available, are often very costly.

“Many hospitals want to purchase and serve healthy, sustainably-produced foods for their patients, staff and the community,” said Lucia Sayre, Co-Director of the San Francisco Physicians for Social Responsibility and a Coordinator of the HCWH Healthy Food in Health Care Program. “Our industrialized food system is fraught with problems such as the overuse of non-therapeutic antibiotics which can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance, and FDA is on the right track to try to limit food production practices that threaten public health. This is a small step but a very important one.”

The HFHC Program is a national initiative of HCWH, developed in conjunction with its member organizations, which mobilizes advocates to work with hospitals across the country to help improve the sustainability of their food services. For more information about the HCWH Healthy Food in Health Care Program, visit www.healthyfoodinhealthcare.org.


Heath Care without Harm, an international coalition of more than 500 organizations in 53 countries, is working to transform the health care sector, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. To learn more about HCWH's work, visit our website at www.noharm.org, our YouTube channel at HCwithoutharm, and our twitter feed at hcwithoutharm.