CSREES Co-hosts Conference Aiming to Minimize Antibiotic Resistance in the Food Chain

Media Contact: Jennifer Martin, (202) 720-8188

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2009 – USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service co-hosted a conference April 2-3, 2009, with The Ohio State University and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service to address the occurrence of antibiotic resistant microbes in the food chain, which is becoming a global food safety and public health concern.

The conference, “Food Safety and Public Health Frontier: Minimizing Antibiotic Resistance Transmission through the Food Chain,” was held in Arlington, Va.  The conference brought together scientists from academia, government and industry to address this issue.  It will provide a multidisciplinary platform to address the antibiotic resistance issue as it relates to the food chain, focusing on commensal bacteria and pathogenic bacteria in antibiotic resistance evolution, maintenance and transmission.

Participants discussed and made recommendations on risk assessment and antibiotic resistance reduction strategies, proposed future research directions and developed education and outreach approaches for the industry, regulators, public health authorities and consumers to combat the worldwide antibiotic resistance problem.

More information about the conference is available on the Ohio State University Web site. 

CSREES supported the conference though a grant from the National Integrated Food Safety Initiative (NIFSI).  More information about NIFSI is available online.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and extension programs, CSREES focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people's daily lives and the nation's future. For more information, visit www.csrees.usda.gov.

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