Yasmina Kattou 06:24, February 24, 2022
Good news two days before the opening of the Agricultural Show.
The importation of meat treated with growth antibiotics will be prohibited from April 22.
A decree has been published to this effect by the Ministry of Agriculture and it is a real victory for French farmers.
Good news for French farmers.
The Minister of Agriculture, Julien Denormandie, signed an order prohibiting the import of meat products treated with antibiotics, banned in Europe but widely used in the United States.
Since 2006, the European Union has banned this practice, but has left the door open to imports of meat spiked with antibiotics.
50% of the meat consumed in France is imported
If French and European producers no longer have the right to use growth antibiotics on their livestock, the Ministry of Agriculture estimates that 50% of the meat consumed in France is imported.
It is difficult to assess the share represented by processed meat, but last year the European Union had 900,000 tonnes of poultry delivered.
Origin: Brazil, Ukraine and Thailand.
Countries where antibiotics are allowed.
There was therefore unfair competition, says Jean-François Guihard, president of the livestock and meat interprofession.
"We can't ask our French livestock to be demanding and to import meat that is not at the same level. It's quite simply 'same rights, same duties'. So it's really a very good measure", he rejoices on Europe 1.
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Deaths of 5 million people worldwide
In addition to competition, this measure aims to limit antibiotic resistance in humans.
According to a published study published in the scientific journal
The Lancet
, bacterial resistance to drugs has caused the death of nearly 5 million people worldwide.