Antimicrobial resistance (AMR): significance to food quality and safety

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance presents a significant challenge to clinical, veterinary, and plant health and is now recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a major emerging problem of global significance. As yet, there have been no successful discoveries of classes of novel antibiotics since 1987. There is an antibiotic discovery void, and it is now widely acknowledged that there is an urgent need for the development of novel antimicrobial agents. For economic reasons, many of the largest pharmaceutical companies have abandoned the antibiotic field, and research conducted by academia was scaled back due to funding cuts following the economic crisis. A post-antibiotic era— in which common infections and minor injuries can kill—far from being an apocalyptic fantasy, is indeed a very real possibility for the 21st century.