Reducing use and improved monitoring can help tackle antimicrobial pollution from livestock, fish farming

The European Economic Area (EEA) has called for expanded monitoring of antimicrobials in European waters to better understand the effectiveness of actions to reduce their use. The assessment focuses on the use of antimicrobials for food-producing animals and their impact on the environment. The EU has set a target to reduce antimicrobial use in farmed animals and aquaculture by 50% by 2030. However, the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals has decreased by around 28% between 2018 and 2022.