AMR from Foods?

When the subject of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is raised people normally connect it only with the medicines. AMR is already a major global threat than several other diseases as the treatment of several diseases fails. Global research on AMR showed that almost 50 lakh deaths in 2019 were associated with drug resistant bacterial infections of all types. Thus, AMR is a leading cause of death.

In the food sector, AMR threatens the livelihood of farmers involved in animal husbandry. In a decade, globally 2.4 crore people are estimated to be pushed into poverty due to AMR. In the absence of proper preventive actions, the AMR rise could result in over $3.4 trillion loss in annual GDP in 10 years, globally.

Very few may be aware that AMR can be caused by foods too. AMR bacteria or genes can contaminate food, developing AMR among the people consuming such foods. The contamination can happen at any stage in the food chain, from field to retail. Hence, even agriculture too comes into the picture if the AMR is to be avoided. Food is contaminated with AMR bacteria in several ways.

Antimicrobials play an important role in treating diseases of animal- and plant-origin foods to ensure food safety. But when antimicrobials are used in plants and animals in an improper way, the pathogens could become tolerant to various drugs used. While AMR microorganisms are commonly found in food of animal origin, their presence in food could also come from contamination during farming. It can also enter the food chain through faecal contamination of soil and water spreading it to plants. The only solution for the problem is judicious use of antibiotics, for humans as well as animals and plants. But a major problem seems to be estimating total use of antimicrobials in agriculture and food. Only over 90 countries have systems in place to gather data.

It is important that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has taken a step in that direction. At its recent meeting in Coimbatore, the

FSSAI'S Central Advisory Committee unveiled an action plan on AMR. Deliberations were held on creating awareness among farmers regarding the judicious use of antibiotics in livestock, poultry, aquaculture and plants. Also, a plan on surveillance on antimicrobial susceptibility in the food matrix was discussed. The

FSSAI has asked states to prepare surveillance plans.

The plan known as AMR National Action Plan – II (AMR-NAP) is a follow up of a similar AMR-NAP I launched in 2017 as a part of the Global Action Plan adopted by World Health Assembly in 2015. AMR-NAP looked into preventing AMR through all sources – antibiotics prescribed to humans as well as through food and agri products. The food regulator looks into the food related part of AMR. As per the plan I the food regulator fixed tolerance limits for the presence of antibiotics in food items by amending the Food Safety and Standards (Containment, toxins and residues) regulation 2011. According to the 2019 research study, though the plan incorporated all the essential objectives of the global plan and promised to address the important policy issues, its implementation was slow and needed a big push from stakeholders.

Use of antimicrobials in animals and plant production is impacted by different factors. One of them appears to be the easy availability of antimicrobial drugs over the counter or on the internet. Availability of substandard drugs is another problem. There seems to be also limitations in training and support for the animal and plant health experts.

Now that the challenges are known and the plan has been implemented since the last four years, maybe the AMR scourge could be tackled for good.