Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance
What is foodborne antimicrobial resistance?
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when microorganisms – such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites – develop the ability to survive drugs that are meant to kill them. AMR makes infections harder to treat because the usual medications no longer kill the microorganisms that cause them.
Antimicrobial Resistance is a serious global health threat. Every year, over 1 million people die from antimicrobial‑resistant infections. Some of these infections come from the food we eat. When harmful bacteria in contaminated food are resistant to antimicrobials, they can cause infections that don’t respond to medications, such as antibiotics, making treatment more challenging and sometimes even resulting in life-threatening conditions.
FAO's work on foodborne AMR
To tackle this challenge, FAO has developed multiple strategies to reduce foodborne AMR risks.
FAO’s approach focuses on strong food‑control systems and good hygiene practices in food handling. Preventing the spread of all foodborne pathogens also reduces the transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.
Additionally, FAO provides scientific guidance to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO Members, and other stakeholders on the role of the environment, crops and biocides in foodborne AMR.
Ongoing AMR projects
Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT) is a five‑year project (2021–2026), funded by the Republic of Korea, to support six countries (the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Mongolia, Nepal and Pakistan) in the implementation of three Codex Alimentarius standards that focus on risk analysis of foodborne AMR, integrated monitoring and surveillance, and reducing the need to use antimicrobials in food production. Learn more about ACT here.
Empowering low income countries to leverage One Health to improve food safety and fair trade (1H4FS) project
Foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR): an economic concern
2023
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of microorganisms to survive or proliferate in the presence of antimicrobial drugs, posing a significant threat to human and animal health.
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting in collaboration with OIE on Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance: Role of the Environment, Crops and Biocides
2019
Responding to the request from the 39th Session Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and the ad hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (TFAMR) for information about antimimcrobial resistance, this report provides scientific advice on the subject derived from a joint “FAO/WHO expert meeting on foodborne antimicrobial resistance
Contact
Publications on foodborne AMR
- Situational analysis of Antimicrobial Resistance, laboratory capacities, surveillance systems and containment activities in Ethiopia: A new and one health approach
- Assessment of the Implementation of Pakistan’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in the Agriculture and Food Sectors
- Identification of Substandard and Falsified Veterinary Medicinal Products on the Rwandan Market Using the Global Pharma Health Fund Minilab
- Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Plant Agriculture: A One Health Perspective
- Achieving Antimicrobial Stewardship on the Global Scale: Challenges and Opportunities