As we know, India is one of the world’s largest producers of milk, world’s fifth largest producer of meat and the third-largest producer of eggs!! However, with the rapid growth and demand for these products, the industry started facing challenges in the form of ‘diseases’ that the animals might have. Any disease to the species might result in the loss of the complete culture. Therefore, as a preventive measure, farmers started using antibiotics and found good results. Sadly, this led to over usage of antibiotics – thereby promoting the emergence of ‘Antibiotic Resistance’.
Team PREVENT IT organized the first international online workshop on 1st October 2021. The theme of the event was ‘Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Food Chain: An Alarming Situation’ in virtual mode. The workshop was conducted on Zoom platform and was streamed live on Youtube for maximum outreach. This workshop aimed at addressing the issue of AMR and empowering people with the right knowledge to combat the situation. It also gave the participants an opportunity to gain the knowledge from eminent speakers from various parts of India and Europe.
Dr. Kiranjeet Kaur, Lead Coordinator, PREVENT IT initiated the opening session, introducing all the other speakers. She, later on, went to speak on Epidemiology of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic Residues in Food Products. The session was taken over by Dr. Himanshu Sekhar Pradhan, Associate Professor, Kalinga Institute of Industrial technology, Orissa. He discussed the role of food in health and infection and its spread in the food chain. Dr. Ernesto Liebana (Head, Biological Hazards and Contaminants Unit, European Food Safety Authority, Italy) discussed the European Perspective on Monitoring and Risk Assessment on antimicrobial resistance in the food chain, with an aim to divulge into the information on food safety as per the European standards to reduce the incidence of AMR.
The final session was kept for debate on the solutions with the title ‘Food Safety and AMR: Break the chain’. The key speakers include Dr. Alfonso Zecconi (Professor, Department of Biological, Surgical and Dental Sciences- One Health Unit, Milano, Italy) and Dr. Prakash Narayanan (Associate Professor, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India). The debate merged into the theme of the workshop so well that it equipped the audience with the valuable knowledge on breaking the chain of antibiotics in food products. The event was concluded with the idea that it is the higher authorities and the government taking pertinent steps to reduce the incidence of AMR.
To access this e-workshop, please click here!
To access the agenda for the event, please click here!
