As an international organization in favor of science based standards for food safety and trade, IICA has been following very closely the most recently developments on antimicrobial resistance international standards setting.
As an international organization in favor of science based standards for food safety and trade, IICA has been following very closely the most recently developments on antimicrobial resistance international standards setting.
In this regard, IICA has recently participated on the “Physical Working Group of the Codex Alimentarius Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance“. This Task Force was established last year to address the task of revising and reviewing the following project documents applied to antimicrobial resistance on the entire food producing chain:
- Proposal for new work on the revision of the Code of Practice to Minimize and Contain Antimicrobial Resistance (CAC/RCP 61-2005);
- Proposal for new work on the Guidance on Integrated Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance;
- Terms of reference for the Provision of Scientific Advice on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Through a participatory process of extensive and lively discussion and informed by the results of an electronic pre-consultation, the working group achieved consensus on the revised project documents, which will be submitted for the approval of the Codex Alimentarius Commission this coming July.
These project documents will be the basis for new and improved international standards applied to food borne antimicrobial resistance integrated surveillance and control along the entire food producing chain. Aiming at filling gaps of current international standards, the approved project documents indicate a broader scope of elements to be considered for risk assessment, surveillance and scientific advice on antimicrobial resistance (crop production, environment, manure, waste and packaging).
Through its Codex Project and in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), IICA supported the participation of Chile, Costa Rica and Ecuador and had a high level representation to the meeting. Using a wealth of experience acquired during ongoing cooperation projects related to this subject in the Caribbean and Latin American regions, IICA collaborated in the debates as an additional advocate for science based parameters and a balanced standard setting process which also reflects the production systems of developing countries.
Another relevant development on antimicrobial resistance standards setting recently achieved was the publication of the World Health Organization (WHO) “Global Priority List of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to Guide Research, Discovery, and Development of New Antibiotics” (Global PPL). In line with the WHO Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, the major objective of the Global PPL is to guide the prioritization of incentives and funding, help align Research and Development priorities with public health needs and support global coordination in the fight against antibiotic resistant bacteria. The WHO PPL targets policy initiatives to incentivize basic science and advanced Research and Development by both public funding agencies and the private sector investing in new antibiotics against the following agents:
Priority 1: CRITICAL
Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant
Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant, 3rd generation cephalosporin-resistant
Priority 2: HIGH
Enterococcus faecium, vancomycin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant, vancomycin intermediate and resistant
Helicobacter pylori, clarithromycin-resistant
Campylobacter, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Salmonella spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, 3rd generation cephalosporin-resistant, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Priority 3: MEDIUM
Streptococcus pneumoniae, penicillin-non-susceptible
Haemophilus influenzae, ampicillin-resistant
Shigella spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant
More information: horrys.friaca@iica.int
*The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and they do not reflect the position of the Institute on the topics presented.
*This post appears in the IICA Delegation in the USA Newsletter – January – February 2017
