By Peter Hughes and John Heritage, University of Leeds, UK There has been a developing controversy surrounding the use of antibiotics as growth promoters for food animals. These drugs are used at low doses in animal feeds and are considered to improve the quality of the product, with a lower percentage of fat and a higher protein content in the meat. Other benefits of the use of antibiotic grow...

-promoters include control of zoonotic pathogens i. Antibiotic growth promoters enhance the efficiency of nutrient resistance in pathogenic bacteria and it has -promoters imposes a selection pressure for bacteria that are resistant to continued use of antimicrobial

The use of antibiotic growth promoters has been questioned in Europe for several decades. The concern has mainly been related to the risk of creating antibiotic resistant microorganisms that can be transferred to humans. The ethical justification for feeding antibiotics to ‘‘healthy animals’’ has been debated as well and during the last decade, the growing consumer demand for ‘‘green’’ food pro...

background: excessive use of antibiotic growth promoters leaded in the creation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and by consuming animal products, humans are at risk of receiving their residual. therefore, instead of using antibiotics as growth promoters, some alternatives must be identified and introduced to animal breeders. objectives: the purpose of this research was to study the effect of a...

During the past 50 years, the livestock and poultry industries have developed in several areas including nutrition, genetics, engineering, management, and communications to maximizing the efficiency of growth performance and meat yield. Now these industries must focus more attention on how animal agriculture affects the environment and food safety. As in many other industries, the global paradi...