IN Brief:
- Antibiotic use in UK pigs has fallen by 72% since 2015.
- The electronic Medicines Book now captures data from more than 94% of UK pig production.
- The figures support processor and retailer assurance around antimicrobial stewardship in pork supply chains.
AHDB electronic Medicines Book data shows that antibiotic use in UK pigs has fallen by 72% since 2015, marking a sustained reduction in one of the most closely watched areas of livestock supply assurance.
The electronic Medicines Book now captures data from more than 94% of UK pig production. The system records antibiotic use and provides a data base for monitoring progress, identifying trends, and supporting responsible medicine use across the pig sector.
The reduction strengthens pork supply assurance because antimicrobial stewardship is now part of wider buyer scrutiny. Pork processors, retailers, foodservice customers, and export buyers are looking beyond price, specification, and delivery. Animal health, welfare, medicine use, environmental impact, and traceability now sit within the same commercial conversation.
Antibiotic reduction in livestock is a public health, farming, and commercial issue. Overuse of antimicrobials can contribute to resistance risk, while under-treatment of sick animals would be unacceptable from a welfare perspective. The practical challenge is to reduce unnecessary use while preserving responsible veterinary treatment where animals need it.
Progress in the pig sector has been built through measurement, veterinary engagement, health planning, vaccination, husbandry improvements, biosecurity, nutrition, and better disease prevention. Data coverage is important because it gives the sector a stronger evidence base than broad commitments alone. Without reliable use data, neither processors nor policymakers can judge whether reductions are sustained or concentrated in particular production systems.
Livestock resilience is being tested by several pressures at once, from disease and feed cost to weather and welfare requirements. Recent heatwave conditions across Europe exposed the vulnerability of animal production systems, and medicine reduction sits within the same wider challenge of maintaining health and productivity while reducing risk.
Antimicrobial data can feed directly into customer assurance schemes. Retailer technical teams and branded pork suppliers may use medicine use figures alongside welfare audits, farm assurance standards, feed records, transport controls, and slaughter data. Export markets can also treat antibiotic stewardship as a point of differentiation where domestic standards influence buyer confidence.
The manufacturing link is indirect but important. Stable pork supply depends on animal health and predictable farm output. Disease outbreaks, high mortality, or poor growth rates can affect carcass availability, cut balance, production planning, and procurement cost. Preventive animal health work upstream helps protect factory continuity downstream.
Antibiotic reduction can also influence product positioning. Consumers may not follow the detail of electronic medicine records, but retailers and foodservice operators increasingly use assurance credentials to support category trust. Labels and marketing claims need careful control, while the underlying data can support stronger technical conversations with buyers.
The remaining challenge is maintaining progress. Early reductions are often easier where obvious excessive or routine use can be removed. Later gains may be harder because remaining antibiotic use is more likely to be linked to specific disease pressures or necessary treatment. That places more weight on prevention through housing, ventilation, hygiene, pig flow, weaning management, vaccination, genetics, nutrition, and farm staff capability.
Data quality will remain central. High coverage through the electronic Medicines Book allows the sector to understand variation between production systems and identify areas where further support is needed. It also reduces the risk that average figures conceal poor performance in isolated parts of the supply base.
The 72% reduction shows that measurable progress is possible when data, industry coordination, and farm practice move together. It gives the UK pork sector a stronger assurance position, while raising expectations that medicine use will remain monitored, justified, and connected to wider animal health performance.
