Beef Cattle Research Council’s National Beef Antimicrobial Research Strategy
By Canadian Packaging staff
Food Safety Beef Cattle Research CouncilBeef industry looking at ways to fight bad bacteria in cattle.
With an eye on making the most of increasing investment in research on antimicrobial resistance and use, Canada’s Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) and the (Canadian) National Beef Value Chain Roundtable (BVCRT) have written a National Beef Antimicrobial Research Strategy.
The antimicrobial research strategy was developed as part of, but ahead of, the renewal of the National Beef Research Strategy, which is set to begin in mid-2016.
“There’s no doubt antimicrobial resistance, use and their alternatives are a high priority in terms of policy, research, and regulations,” says Tim Oleksyn, a cow-calf producer from Shellbrook, Saskatchewan and Chair of the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC). “It is important for the industry to have a comprehensive strategy with clearly defined outcomes to ensure every research dollar helps make progress.”
To write the strategy, the BCRC and the BVCRT collaborated with cattle producers and industry representatives, veterinarians, pharmaceutical experts, scientists, academics, human medical professionals, government regulators, policymakers and research funders, they said in a news release.
It identifies priority research outcomes for the Canadian beef industry and has gained commitment from Canada’s major beef research funders to focus on achieving these outcomes, including:
- Antimicrobial resistance;
- Antimicrobial use;
- Antibiotic alternatives.
“The beef industry has a responsibility and an opportunity to help guide and direct valuable investments intended to help protect the effectiveness of antimicrobials,” added Oleksyn. “By collaborating with research funders and other major stakeholder groups, we can achieve the most meaningful outcomes relevant to both the beef industry and the Canadian public.”
The Strategy is intended to evolve based on stakeholder feedback and ongoing review as research outcomes are achieved and new outcomes arise. It can be found on the BCRC website HERE.
More information on the BCRC can be found at www.beefresearch.ca.
Image above of Black Angus Cattle purchased via www.fotolia.com.
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