Zootecnica International - World Poultry Journal

The US Food and Drug Administration confirmed it would continue to allow the widespread use of a class of powerful antibiotics in food-producing animals, making a last-minute reversal since calling the practice a public-health risk in the summer.

Cephalosporins treat respiratory diseases in cattle and swine but are also often given "off-label" for uses not approved by the FDA to poultry or more generally in livestock for non-approved infectious diseases. So, on July 3, 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a final rule that prohibits the extralabel use of cephalosporin antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals, including, but not limited to cattle, swine, chickens, and turkeys, citing "the importance of cephalosporin drugs for treating disease in humans".

That position was reiterated in September by the FDA's director of veterinary drugs, Steven Vaughn Groups such as the Animal Population Health Institute, the Kansas Health Department and the National Turkey Federation, objected to the proposed ban. Moreover, agriculture groups and animal-drug makers, including Pfizer Inc., said the antibiotics are needed to prevent many infectious diseases in animals.

On November 25, five days before the ban was to take effect, the FDA quietly revoked it with a notice in the Federal Register. The FDA's statement said the agency received many comments and needed more time to review them.