(Last updated: February 2023)
Practicing good food safety can reduce the risk of foodborne illness and help limit the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Microorganisms, including bacteria, are everywhere. They can spread through the interactions and movement of people, animals, food and the environment. Some bacteria are good, some are harmful, and some are resistant to antibiotics (which are antimicrobials). Everyone can play a role in slowing the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
The Australian food supply is one of the safest in the world, but people can still get sick from eating contaminated foods. Foodborne illness can be caused by bacteria and in some cases these bacteria can also be antimicrobial resistant. This means the steps we take to keep food safe and reduce the chance of foodborne illness, can also help reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
For most people, foodborne illness is mild and they don’t need to be treated with antibiotics. But people with severe symptoms or more vulnerable groups like the young, old and people with weakened immune systems may need antimicrobial treatment. In these cases, foodborne illness can be harder to treat if the bacteria are resistant to commonly used medicines (just like other infections with AMR bacteria).
Food safety for food businesses - What you can do
Food safety for consumers - What you can do
Check out our
Food Safety Basics page to see how you can reduce your chances of foodborne illness and at the same time help to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
You can watch a
video about what AMR and find out
what the Australian Government is doing and more about AMR.
You can also learn more about AMR from the World Health Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Antimicrobials are medicines used to prevent and treat infections caused by microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites) in people, animals and plants. The term ‘antimicrobials’ refers to antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics. Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics, viruses to antivirals, fungi to antifungals and parasites to antiparasitics.
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to antimicrobials. When this happens, infections are harder to treat and the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death increases.
For example, bacteria can become resistant to the antibiotics we use to kill them. While taking antibiotics will destroy most of the bad bacteria, sometimes a few resistant ones can survive. These can then multiply and spread. Bacteria can develop resistance through mutation (random changes to their DNA) or from genes transferring from one bacteria to another. As a result of AMR, antibiotics can become ineffective, meaning common diseases are harder to treat, and lifesaving medical procedures are riskier.
The main cause of AMR in bacteria is antibiotic use. While antibiotics are essential to modern medicine, the more antibiotics Australians use, the faster resistant bacteria will develop. Because antibiotics in Australia are used to treat people and animals, to reduce AMR we need to understand the interconnection between people, animals and our shared environment. This is called a 'One Health' approach.
A One Health approach is important because antibiotic-resistant bacteria can potentially spread between and within the sectors of public health, agriculture, environment and food.
Antibiotic use by humans puts pressure on bacteria to become resistant. Resistant bacteria can spread between people through direct contact, coughing, sneezing and exposure to body fluids. Bacteria can also pass between pets, livestock or wildlife and to humans through direct contact.
Antibiotic use in animals also puts pressure on bacteria to become resistant. Resistant bacteria from food-producing animals can move through the food supply chain and be present in the food we eat. Resistant bacteria can also move through the environment and contaminate food crops. People can also transfer resistant bacteria from themselves to food during food production or preparation.
Resistant bacteria present in animal waste, sewerage and food waste can also contaminate the environment, including soil and water. Bacteria in the environment can then spread back to animals, food and people. This interconnectedness makes a One Health Approach essential to tackling the problem of AMR.
FSANZ has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Health to do
a project looking at antimicrobial resistant bacteria in the Australian food supply, with the support of all jurisdictions. FSANZ began surveillance of selected retail foods in September 2022 and will continue until mid-2023.
A previous
national pilot study was done by Food Science Australia in 2007. Overall, the study found resistance of bacteria in retail foods to most antibiotics was low. When compared to reports from other countries at the time, the foods surveyed in Australia had a very low prevalence of bacteria that were resistant to antibiotics, particularly those “critically important” for human medicine.
Antimicrobials can be used by farmers to keep their animals healthy. As a result, very low levels of antimicrobial residues may be present in some of the foods we eat. Standard 1.4.2 and Schedule 20 of the
Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code lists the maximum allowable residue limits for antimicrobial residues in food. Food can't be sold if it contains residues above these limits. Regular tests show antimicrobial residues rarely exceed these limits.
State and territory agriculture departments control and monitor the use of antimicrobial products in animals. Antimicrobial residues in imported food, such as seafood and honey, are also tested at the border by the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). Results of these tests are available on the department's website.
DAFF runs the National Residue Survey to monitor residues of antimicrobials in food and checks maximum residue limits (MRL) comply with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority standard. The 2015‒16 survey sampled over 9000 meat, egg, honey and aquatic species, finding compliance rates of over 99 per cent.
Australia’s food supply is one of the safest and cleanest in the world.
Bacteria are abundant in every habitat on Earth, as well as in plants and animals. So, bacteria are expected to be present in foods, especially raw meats, seafood, eggs, and fresh produce.
The vast majority of these bacteria are rendered harmless in our bodies by our immune systems. However, some bacteria can beat our immune system and make us ill.
Proper food handling minimises the risk of bacteria, including AMR bacteria, being transmitted from food to people. Keeping food protected from contamination and at safe temperatures is critical. Food safety practices are especially important with food for pregnant women, the elderly, young children and anyone with an illness. These groups are more likely to get seriously ill from infections because their immune systems are weaker.
The use of antimicrobials on farms and in food is tightly regulated. Local and imported foods are regularly tested for residues of antimicrobials, and typically only minor issues are found with a small number of samples tested. It is highly unlikely that residues in food would lead to bacterial resistance because the amounts are very low, and likely to be further reduced by cooking, other food processing and digestion in the gut.
Before a farmer can use an antimicrobial, it needs to be officially registered, and the way it is to be used needs to be approved. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) must be satisfied that use of the antimicrobial will not result in residues that could be unsafe.
Industry and veterinary programs also support the correct use of antibiotics in animal production.
FSANZ works closely with the APVMA to make sure any potential residues in food are at safe levels. FSANZ regularly surveys and assesses the food we eat in Australia, to check for a range of chemicals, including antimicrobials, to confirm our food is safe.
