Status of AMR in Food Sector: Implications for Food Safety and Food Security with Special Reference to Fisheries

Abstract

Worldwide, consumers relish fish as food, owing to its nutritional and health benefits. Bacteria, including antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) strains, gain entry onto fish either during preharvest growth phase or postharvest processing and handling. The domestic and international trade in raw and processed fish makes them inadvertent vehicles for national and transboundary transmission of bacteria. Microorganisms in the aquatic environment adapt to the sublethal concentrations of antibiotic resulting in emergence of resistance that may eventually be disseminated via the harvested fish to human pathogens; either in the gut of fish consumers, on food contact surfaces, or in the environment. This chapter gives an overview of the importance of fish in human diet, role of fisheries in addressing food security, antimicrobial use (AMU) in aquaculture, regulations related to AMU in aquaculture, food safety vis-à-vis antibiotic residues, Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) notifications of the European Union pertaining antibiotic residues in fish and crustaceans, antimicrobial resistance in preharvest and postharvest fisheries, and suggest measures to mitigate AMR in aquatic animal farming.KeywordsFish foodAntimicrobial resistanceAMRAntimicrobial usageAMUMaximum Residue LimitMRLRapid Alert System for Food and FeedRASFFFood Security