USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford today released the following statement on the detection of BSE in the United States:

Much of the beef, pork or chicken we eat contains small amounts of antibiotics. The drugs are fed to animals so they can thrive in the crowded, often-fetid factory farms that dominate U.S. meat and poultry production. But giving animals a steady diet of these medicines has contributed to the increase of antibiotic-resistant bugs that can pose grave risks to humans.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces the release of the final Strategic Plan for the Foods and Veterinary Medicine Program (FVM) for 2012-2016. The plan addresses the responsibilities of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Center for Veterinary Medicine while including activities supported by the Office of Regulatory Affairs.

Two people contracted cryptosporidiosis and more than a dozen others got sick after attending a local petting zoo March 31, state health officials said. The Minnesota Department of Health issued an alert to health care providers Wednesday afternoon after laboratory tests confirmed two people picked up the parasite, which causes severe watery diarrhea.