Addressing the public health threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a national strategic priority for the UK and has led to the UK Government publishing the second 5-year National Action Plan (NAP) on confronting AMR 2024 to 2029 which contains outcomes and commitments that will enable progress towards the UK’s 20-year vision for AMR to be contained, controlled and mitigated. The NAP takes a ‘One-Health’ approach which includes people, animals, agriculture, food safety and the environment. Better food safety and production can help limit the contamination of foodstuffs and spread of resistance. Achieving it requires evidence-based risk-management actions and a solid understanding of how AMR travels through the food chain.
This Area of Research Interest (ARI) aims to enable the FSA to continue to contribute to the delivery of the AMR NAP by addressing key evidence gaps through the commissioning of AMR related research and surveillance in the food chain. This is improving our understanding of AMR through capability to measure, predict and understand how resistant microorganisms spread from animals and agriculture to humans via the food chain (Theme 1, Outcome 3 in the NAP) and enabling decisions to be based on robust surveillance, scientific research and datasets (Theme 3, Outcome 7 in the NAP).
The portfolio of work includes:
This survey will gather new baseline data on antimicrobial resistant (AMR) E. coli and Listeria contaminating raw, prepacked, farmed salmon fillets on retail sale in the UK.
A commitment was made in the 2019-2024 UK wide AMR National Action Plan (NAP) to explore and track perceptions of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) bacteria in food, amongst food handlers.
The FSA have commissioned an AMR survey in fresh retail meats in Northern Ireland from September 2023 to December 2027.
Surveys to monitor the presence of AMR bacteria in foods of animal origin is a requirement of the European Directive 2003/99/EC and the commission implementing decision 2013/652/EU on the monitoring and reporting of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in zoonotic and commensal bacteria.
This survey is gathering data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria found in raw dog and cat food on retail sale in the UK. This will enable us to identify any risk to the public by cross contamination during the storage and handling of these products.
This project identifies the Antimicrobial Resistance Genes present in bacterial biofilms in meat processing plants, using techniques that allow us to generate large amounts of DNA sequence data from biofilm samples.
This study is a laboratory-based study which will track the AMR contamination found on chicken during processing. This study will identify the critical points during meat processing where more stringent interventions (enhanced cleaning and disinfectants) may be required to reduce the AMR contamination on meats and the risk to consumers.
An increased rate of resistance in Campylobacter in chicken to such antimicrobials could limit effective treatment options for human infections and it is therefore important to monitor changes in rates of resistance over time. In this report we analysed trends in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in C. jejuni and C. coli isolated from chicken in the UK.
In this study we estimated how frequently Salmonella spp. were present in frozen, breaded or battered chicken products, intended to be cooked before consumption, on retail sale in the UK between April and July 2021.
This study reviewed literature for the creation of a set of modular templates of risk of AMR within the chicken and lettuce supply chain, focusing on all processing stages. This work sought to enable the FSA to produce more efficient and reproducible AMR risk assessments within foods.
The FSA have commissioned an AMR survey in chicken and turkey meat collected at retail sale in the UK from January to December 2022.
Since 2015, we have carried out surveillance of AMR in UK retail meats. This provides us with evidence of the prevalence of AMR E. coli in beef and pork samples on retail sale.
This sixth annual publication details the findings of a survey of Antimicrobial Resistant (AMR) E. coli in Retail Chicken. The research was carried out during 2020.
This study estimated the diversity of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in 52 simple ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, including milk, tomatoes, bananas, cheese, and ham.
Since 2015, the FSA has carried out surveillance of AMR in UK retail meats. This will provide us with evidence of the prevalence of AMR E. coli in beef and pork samples on retail sales.
This survey follows on from previous reports examining fresh, whole UK-produced chickens sold at non-major retailers. The survey again looks at prevalence and levels of campylobacter contamination and antimicrobial resistance on chicken neck skin.
A quantitative research study, utilising a representative UK sample to understand awareness of, and attitudes towards, antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
The FSA is continuing to commission projects to improve our understanding of the role the food chain plays in the development and spread of AMR bacteria.
This survey estimates the contributions of the main sources of human campylobacter infection and seeks to identify any changes over time.
Critical review into the evidence regarding the impact of heat treatments on AMR genes, and their uptake in other 'live' cells.
This project will analyse the contribution of bacteria in biofilms in secondary meat processing facilities to the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) burden of foodstuffs.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health problem, requiring a ‘One Health’ response. Following reports of increased use of antibiotics to treat bacterial plant diseases, the FSA collaborated with Defra to commission a review of antibiotic use in crops, the associated risk of AMR and research gaps.
This study will use sequencing to estimate the diversity of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in selected ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. This will give insights into the burden and source of AMR genes in the gut microbiome, which could be a key driver of AMR.
The aim of this review was to determine the impact secondary food processing has on the presence and spread of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria in meat and meat products. It also included consideration of bacterial stress responses and the use of sub-lethal food processing technologies in relation to AMR.