by
Glenn Adams, Associated Press Writer
AUGUSTA, Maine --Concerns about the human health implications of treating cattle, pigs and poultry with antibiotics to promote growth are prompting Maine to adopt what supporters call the first state meat purchasing preference policy of its kind in the nation.
The policy will tell meat producers that the state prefers to buy products from animals that have not been given antibiotics for non-therapeutic purposes. It also encourages Maine school districts to engage in contracts with suppliers whose products meet that preference.
A leader of a coalition of health, consumer and agricultural groups that pressed for Maine's policy calls it pioneering.
"With its leadership, Maine joins a growing number of restaurant chains, supermarkets, hospitals and other large-scale food purchasers taking positive steps to preserve the future effectiveness of antibiotics important in human medicine," said Richard Wood of the Chicago-based Keep Antibiotics Working.
Those who support steps like the one Maine has taken say many feed additives given to poultry, hogs and beef cattle belong to the same classes of antibiotics used in human medicine.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, which has helped to expose the issue nationally, says antibiotics are passed on to humans, creating new strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotic treatment and making it harder to treat infections in people.
Last August, Compass Group, which prepares tens of millions of pounds of pork each year for schools, museums, hospitals and corporations nationwide, announced it was no longer buying pork in which antibiotics approved for human use have been used to promote growth. Compass' Americas Division is based in North Carolina.
The nation's largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods Inc. in Virginia, restricts the drugs to sick animals or to protect those around other sick animals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not allow the use of Baytril in poultry out of concern it could lead to antibiotic-resistant infections in humans.
The new Maine policy stems from a law that also calls for further study into the prudent use of antibiotics in Maine animals.
State Sen. Scott Cowger sponsored the purchase-preference bill, which initially was more far-reaching. It sought to bar public schools, the University of Maine System and all state institutions from purchasing meat from animals given antibiotics, but Cowger backed off, realizing that it would not fly politically.
Cowger, D-Hallowell, said Monday that he's not aware of farmers who use antibiotics as growth stimulants in Maine. But he said the purchasing policy is important because it makes a statement that acknowledges the potential impact on human health.
"My concern is that we are ingesting antibiotics unknowingly," said Cowger.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be transferred to humans through the air, food, soil and water, according to those seeking controls.
Supporters have asked members of Congress in Maine and New Hampshire to support federal legislation addressing the issue. All four members of Maine's congressional delegation are co-sponsoring Senate or House versions of the bill.
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On the Net:
Keep Antibiotics Working: http://www.KeepAntibioticsWorking.com
Union of Concerned Scientists: http://www.ucsusa.org/food--and--environment/antibiotics--and--food/Associated Press
