The primary focus of this initiative by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG Sante) is to promote awareness regarding the threat of growing antibiotic resistance and the correct use of antibiotics. It is also concerned with animal health and welfare, food and feed of animal and non-animal origin, food import controls, veterinary medicines and their residues, food hygiene and safety, plant health protection, animal by-products, and more. The prudent use of antibiotics can impede the emergence of resistant bacteria, safeguarding the continued efficacy of antibiotics for future generations.
The Veterinary Research Institute is actively engaged in addressing the concerns of antibiotic use, reducing antibiotic consumption in animals, and other issues related to the mitigation of pathogen resistance to antimicrobial treatment. This commitment is evident in numerous national and international projects the Institute is currently implementing.
The H2020 funded project, with the acronym NeoGiANT, aims to develop and verify an innovative natural formulation with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties derived from grape marc. This formulation is intended for use as a dietary supplement in the nutrition of livestock and farmed fish, with the goal of reducing dependence on the use of antibiotics in livestock and aquaculture production.
Other important matters in this area are being addressed by ongoing projects related to various species of livestock, especially poultry, piglets, cattle, and fish. With their wide range of topics, they aim to comprehensively cover this area, addressing various aspects ranging from bedding and feed supplements to new types of vaccines and therapeutics and, last but not least, data management in livestock herds.
