Microsoft word - hb2379.doc

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to the law as it existed
prior to this session of the General Assembly.
For An Act To Be Entitled
AN ACT TO PROTECT FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION FROM ANIMAL PRODUCTS INCLUDING NONTHERAPEUTIC Subtitle
19 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 20 21 SECTION (1) Many bacteria can live in both humans and animals; (2) Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can move by various routes from 25 animals to humans, for instance, through: 26 (A) Food, with resistant bacteria contaminating animal carcasses 27 during slaughter, winding up on raw meat that reaches the consumer, and if 28 the meat is not cooked thoroughly, if cutting boards or knives are not 29 thoroughly washed before being used on other food, or if raw meat juices come 30 into contact with other food or utensils, those germs may infect people who 31 eat the food or touch the utensils or household surfaces contaminated by the 32 raw meat; 33 (B) Food-borne illness, with, for example, salmonella from 34 poultry causes one million four hundred thousand (1,4000,000) illnesses 35 annually; 36 (C) The environment, where wastes often stored in open-air *CDW172* 03062003MGF1354.CDW172
1 lagoons that are prone to leaking, breaking or spreading on fields where they 2 may contaminate vegetables and fruits, which then can transfer resistant 3 bacteria to humans; and 4 (D) Workplaces where farm workers may become infected with 5 resistant germs in the course of caring for animals fed antibiotics and may 6 then pass those bacteria along to their family and others in the community; 7 and 8 (3) Use of antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals may lead to 9 the emergence of bacterial pathogens that are resistant to drugs used to 10 treat human illness, potentially making human illnesses more difficult to 11 treat. 12 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code Title 2, Chapter 37, Subchapter 1 is amended 14 to add an additional section to read as follows: 15 2-37-115. Nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics prohibited. (a)(1) After January 1, 2004, no person may sell, buy, or use animal 17 feed containing fluorquinolones for nontherapeutic use. 18 (2) After January 1, 2005, no person may sell, buy, or use 19 animal feed containing penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, lincomycin, 20 tylosin, virginiamycin, or other antibiotics used in human medicine for a 21 nontherapeutic use. 22 (b) The State Plant Board, in consultation with the Department of 23 Health, shall promulgate rules to prohibit the use of any microbial agents 24 for growth in animals if the agent is used in human therapies or is known to 25 be selected for cross-resistance to microbial agents used in human medicine. 26 (c)(1) A person who manufactures, distributes, or sells commercial 27 feeds containing antibiotics shall pay to the plant board an annual surcharge 28 of one percent (1%) of the person's annual gross sales of all commercial 29 feeds sold that contain antibiotics and are used in Arkansas. 30 (2)(A) The moneys from the surcharge shall be deposited into the 31 State Treasury to the credit of the Plant Board Fund and shall be limited to 32 the uses specified in subdivision (c)(2)(C) of this section. 33 (B) The principal may not be spent and deposits made shall 34 be returned to the person who paid the surcharge five (5) years after the 35 payment. 36 (C) The Director of the State Plant Board shall use the (i) Monitor antibiotic resistance in animals raised (iii) In consultation with the Arkansas Department 7 of Environmental Quality, monitor bacteria, resistant bacteria, and 8 antibiotic residues in drinking water supplies; and 9 (iv) In consultation with the University of Arkansas 10 Cooperative Extension Service, support on-farm demonstrations of alternatives 11 to antibiotics for growth promotion. 12 (d) Fees collected shall constitute a fund for the payment of the 13 costs of inspection, sampling, analysis, and other expenses necessary for 14 administration of this chapter and shall be deposited into the State Treasury 15 to the credit of the Plant Board Fund. 16 (e) For purposes of this section, "nontherapeutic use" means any use 17 of antimicrobial drug in animals in the absence of disease, including the use 18 for growth promotion, feed efficiency, or disease prevention. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Source: http://www.ncel.net/articles/AR-HB2379.antibiotics.pdf