Combatting antimicrobial resistance requires comprehensive information on the use of antimicrobials for different animal species. The collection and reporting of this information will be developed in a cooperation project launched between the Finnish Food Authority and Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea at the beginning of 2023.
"The project is part of the EU's efforts to combat antibiotic-resistant microbes. Animal species-specific information will be used to guide the prudent use of antimicrobials,” says Henriette Helin-Soilevaara from the Finnish Food Authority.
"In Finland, animals have been medicated responsibly, so the animal species-specific data collected can in the future strengthen consumer confidence and further promote the export of Finnish food.”
In Finland, antimicrobial consumption by animals has been monitored for a long time
The agencies have engaged in long-standing cooperation in the field of veterinary medicines, and this newly launched project will further improve this cooperation.
The EU Regulation on Veterinary Medicinal Products 2019/6 entrusts the Member States with a mandatory task of reporting information to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on antimicrobials used in and sold for veterinary use. The Agency will analyse the data together with the Member States and other Union agencies and publish an annual report on these. In Finland, Fimea is responsible for reporting sales data and the Finnish Food Authority is responsible for reporting usage data.
In Finland, the consumption on veterinary antimicrobials has been monitored and reported using wholesale data since 1995. The results have been reported annually in joint FINRES-vet reports by the Finnish Food Authority, Fimea and the University of Helsinki and in ESVAC reports by the European Medicines Agency.
The use of antimicrobials will be monitored by animal species in the future
The purpose of the new project is to provide more detailed information to support analyses and to automate data collection. Animal species-specific antimicrobial use has not previously been monitored by the authorities in Finland. The Finnish Food Authority has developed a system for collecting and reporting information. The work has been and will continue to be carried out in close cooperation with Fimea.
"Fimea's data on medicines plays an important role in the successful collection of both animal species-specific use data and sales data and in ensuring that the data is correct," says Heidi Mustalammi from Fimea.
The Finnish Food Authority's role in the new project is to ensure that the information on the use of antimicrobials is correct and comprehensive.
Inquiries:
Finnish Food Authority: Henriette Helin-Soilevaara, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 29 520 4247, henriette.helin-soilevaara@ruokavirasto.fi
Fimea: Heidi Mustalammi, Project Manager, tel. +358 29 522 3329, heidi.mustalammi@fimea.fi
More information:
The European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC)
FINRES-Vet reports
The ASU-FI project (No 101103224) has received funding from the EU Single Market Programme (SMP).