According to recent research by the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance (CIPARS), the amount of the antibiotic cephalosporin used by Canadian chicken hatcheries has been directly correlated with the level of cephalosporin-resistant bacteria in both poultry and humans.

 In 2005, farmers briefly ceased application of the antibiotic, and the scientists found that the bacteria resistance levels dropped. However, between 2007 and 2008, as antibiotic use resumed, retail chicken tested in three Canadian provinces showed a jump of up to 46 percent of cephalosporin-resistant bacteria.

CIPARS has stated that although cephalosporin is not an approved antibiotic for use with chickens or eggs, farmers inject it into eggs as a preventative measure. Although the nation’s Health Canada agency has already issued a safety warning about this off-label use of cephalosporin, some are advocating tighter restrictions or an outright ban on the sale of these antibiotics for farmed animals.