Business: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), India's food safety regulator, has tightened antibiotics residue rules for milk products, eggs, meat and meat-related products, poultry and aquaculture lowering the permissible levels and placing more drugs on its watch list, said a news report. 

The step was taken to handle the growing problem of superbugs, which are bacteria and fungi that have developed resistance to antibiotics and other medications due to the misuse of drugs. The revised limits, notified by FSSAI recently, will come into effect from April 1, 2025.

What CPA's working president said? 

"If enforced strictly, the regulations will ensure safer food products for consumers by setting stricter residue and contaminant limits across a variety of food items and help in dealing with antimicrobial resistance," said George Cheriyan, working president of the Consumers Protection Association (CPA).

Know more about Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is caused when microbes evolve into drug-resistant superbugs in response to the presence of antibiotics, is considered one of the top threats to health and development. India has one of the highest rates of resistance to antimicrobial agents used both in humans and food animals.

Antibiotics are usually used in the farming sector to treat diseases in animals, Cheriyan said, adding that using antibiotics as growth promoters results in the development of antibiotic-resistant strains and the release of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. The maximum residue limits for antibiotics were last set in 2011. Cheriyan said they now need a revision. 

ICMR report 

A recent report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that diseases like urinary tract infections (UTIs), blood infections, pneumonia, and typhoid have developed resistance to commonly used antibiotics, making treatment more difficult.

It calls for immediate action to combat the rising threat of antibiotic resistance and stresses the need for tighter regulations on antibiotic use. The report, based on data from hospitals and clinics across India from January 1 to December 31, 2023, analysed around 99,492 samples from public and private healthcare centres and highlights a concerning rise in antibiotic resistance and decreasing susceptibility of common bacteria.

The report also pointed out the misuse of important antibiotics in agriculture, which accelerates resistance. It stressed that stronger steps are needed to safeguard the effectiveness of essential antibiotics for human and animal health.