July 23, 2026
 

India's antibiotic bans secure EU market access but domestic enforcement gaps remain

Researchers warn that trade-driven restrictions on veterinary antibiotic use have yet to translate into meaningful changes in domestic food-animal production practices.

India secured continued access to EU markets for aquaculture products, eggs, honey and animal casings in June 2026, following a series of antibiotic-use reforms - but analysts say the measures address export compliance more than the underlying drivers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in domestic food-animal production.

The EU's addition of India to its authorised exporter list under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1189 came after India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare prohibited 34 antimicrobials for animal use in September 2025, broadly mirroring the EU's own reserved list under Regulation 2022/1255. India's Drug Technical Advisory Board has since recommended extending the ban to two further antibiotic classes - carboxypenicillins and phosphonic acid derivatives - bringing the country into closer alignment with EU requirements.

However, enforcement remains a concern. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) flagged in June that residues of nitrofurans and chloramphenicol - both banned - continued to be detected in shrimp exports, accounting for 43% of Indian aquaculture export rejections by the EU, the US and Japan in 2025. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation subsequently directed states to strengthen surveillance and restrict sales of prohibited substances to licensed manufacturers.

Analysts from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) noted that the antibiotics now prohibited are mostly high-end compounds not widely used in Indian food-animal production. Indian farmers largely rely on older, cheaper antibiotics including cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides - substances not covered by the latest restrictions. CSE also said colistin, banned since 2019, continues to be available and used in the poultry sector.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is working to incorporate the 34 newly prohibited antimicrobials into its own residue monitoring framework, but researchers said regular public disclosure of monitoring data would be needed to meaningfully strengthen accountability for domestically consumed food, not just exports.

- Down To Earth