Some years ago, the use of hormones to promote growth in farm animals was unilaterally banned because of fears for the consequences to human health. The present day fears surround the widespread use of antibiotics in animal feeds to achieve a similar end. For many years the sub-therapeutic use of such pharmaceuticals have had the useful effect of:

· Controlling the bacterial population of the internal environment of the animal, and
· Improving their growth rate and feed conversion efficiency

This has been an economically viable method of raising animals for food, especially under increasingly intensive conditions where the spread of disease is easy and sub-optimal management standards are prevalent In short, antibiotics have been a crutch for an industry under increasing financial pressures.
Recently, there has been a growing concern over the possibilities of antibiotics used in animal nutrition causing cross-resistance to the generation of antibiotics intended for use in human medicine.

Sweden was the first country to take positive action in prohibiting the sub-therapeutic use of in-feed antibiotics. Avoparcin was banned throughout Europe and Denmark imposed its own internal ban on antibiotic growth promoters in broiler feeds and in feeds for growing pigs. Now, four more growth promoters -virginiamycin, spiramycin, tylosin and zinc bacitracin are to be banned.

The consequences for the animal production industry are grave and various estimates into millions of dollars have been made as to the economic effect such moves will have. Quite simply, the industry will have to find an alternative method of maintaining modern levels of production and routinely controlling microbial populations -but in a way that is consistent with the natural and "green" approach

The answer lies in Genex.