Decreasing antibiotic doses confirmed
In 2022, veterinarians on farms keeping QS pigs prescribed significantly fewer antibiotics than in the previous year. This is the result of the current evaluation of antibiotics monitoring for pig farms in the QS scheme. Compared to 2021, the amount administered in 2022 fell by almost 14 percent in fattening pigs, by 9 percent in sows, by 8 percent in suckling piglets and by as much as 20,5 percent in rearing piglets.
Twice a year, the antibiotic therapy index in the QS system indicates the average number of treatment units per animal place in a six-month period. "We use this to compare the average number of animals on the farm in relation to the de facto amount of antibiotics administered," explains Sabrina Hess, team leader for animal health at QS Qualitäts und Sicherheit GmbH (QS), explaining the difference between the QS data and the government information. in which the total volume of antibiotics sold to all veterinarians (large and small animal practices) is recorded. “The QS figures from 2022 show that the declines in antibiotic quantities are not due to lower animal numbers. These numbers speak to the successes in herd management that have reduced antibiotic dispensing per animal, regardless of herd numbers.”
For more than ten years, QS has been evaluating the quantities of antibiotics actually administered in the QS companies. Using the QS database, QS not only provides the respective farm with a regular and valid overview of the animal health in its stock, but can also verify general tendencies in the prescribing behavior of livestock practitioners: Within the last 10 years, the use of antibiotics in the QS system almost halved and the current figures from the Pig Therapy Index also show that this trend is continuing.
QS Qualitäts und Sicherheit GmbH Quality assurance - from the farmer to the shop counter
QS has been the economic institution for safety in the production of food and feed for over 20 years. The QS system seamlessly defines the requirements for food safety and quality assurance along the entire value chain for meat, fruit, vegetables and potatoes. All of the more than 180.000 partners in the QS scheme are regularly checked by independent auditors. Comprehensive monitoring programs and targeted laboratory analyzes support quality assurance. The products from the QS scheme can be recognized by the QS certification mark. It stands for safe food, the conscientious and monitored production of which all economic operators, consumers and society can rely on.
Also read: "Antibiotic dispensing reduced again"
