17. May 2023

Capacity building for antibiotic residue training in Georgian poultry in collaboration with the Danish Veterinary and Food Agency (DVFA)

Context

In Georgia, the National Action Plan (NAP) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) was developed in 2017 to define a unified policy against antimicrobial resistance. This strategy is being implemented in a coordinated manner by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA). Since then, huge strides have been made in the implementation of actions to control the development and spread of AMR in the human health sector in Georgia, but gaps remain in implementing the NAP in the animal sector.

Problem

This activity supports an ICARS-funded project in Georgia and will support several components of the project by building capacity at the State Laboratory of Agriculture (SLA) to appropriately conduct microbiological testing, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), and residue-testing. This activity contributes to addressing the following elements of the NAP:

  1. Initiating monitoring of antibiotics used in veterinary medicine including monitoring residues in products of animal origin,
  2. Increasing awareness of AMR and use of safe feed among veterinarians and farmers, and
  3. Strengthening/expanding monitoring of bacterial contamination in food of animal origin food (including strengthening laboratory capacity). 

Project overview

This activity will provide training in analysis of residues of veterinary drugs in meat by LC-MS/MS, for laboratory staff from the SLA in Georgia. The training will include EU legislation concerning detection capability, decision limits, validation, quality assurance in laboratory and accreditation when expanding a number of parameters in analytical methods.
It is a supporting activity to an existing ICARS-funded project in Georgia, in which a trial will be conducted to assess whether poultry can be raised without antibiotics and without affecting productivity measures.
The trainings will consist of two blocks of 4 days and 5 days each. This will be followed with 3-hour virtual consultations twice a month for 2 months following the initial training, for troubleshooting any start-up challenges that may arise. The second training will take place in Q1 of 2023 at the SLA in Georgia and will last for 5 days. This will be followed by monthly 3-hour virtual consultations for 4 months after training. 

Outcomes

Outcome:

  • Improved capacity to test for antibiotic residues in poultry meat in Georgia.

Output:

  • Two trainings one held at the FVST laboratory and one in Georgia. 
  • 4 staff from the State Laboratory of Agriculture trained on residue-testing methodology.

Gallery

Facts

Region: Europe

Sector: Terrestrial and Aquatic Animals

Country: Georgia

Type: Supporting activity

Country partners: Georgia State Laboratory of Agriculture (SLA)

Funding partners: Danish Veterinary and Food Agency (DVFA)

Timescale: 11 July 2022 – Q1 2024

Lead Advisor

Nandini Sreenivasan
Mobile (+45) 30 89 74 27
Mail nsr@icars-global.org
About Nandini Sreenivasan