I am living in the European Union. What a blessing. So much things I don’t need to think about. Has its downsides, but this is an upside. Are antibiotics a health problem for me, eating cheap meat?

There is a regulation Regulation on veterinary medicinal products and repealing Directive 2001/82/EC , giving a ban on routine use, a ban on growth promotion and restrictions on preventative use.

Maximum residue limits (MRL) is regulated in the Regulation on pharmacologically active substances and their classification regarding maximum residue limits in foodstuffs of animal origin (Article 1) and the Withdrawal Periods are regulated in the Regulation on veterinary medicinal products and repealing (Aricle 115, Article 107).

It seems, that the regulations are actually enforced, as shown in Report for 2021 on the results from the monitoring of veterinary medicinal product residues and other substances in live animals and animal products where 600k samples were checked.

This does not mean, that there are not antibiotic resistant bacteria in the meat. Thus, I need to handle raw meat carefully! But while researching the original topic, I have read that the goal is to reduce antibiotics in meat production by 50% between 2018 and 2030 (numbers out of my head) and in 2025, we are already at 28% reduction, which sounds great.

A random thought: It would be maybe even good to buy meat external of the EU as we have strict import controls. This would give more producers the incentive to adopt the great EU rules. But I don’t see me doing that.