Tyson Foods says it has stopped using
antibiotics at the 35 chicken hatcheries it runs.
“Since the antibiotic typically used in
hatcheries is important to human health, this is a significant first step
toward our goal of reducing the use of antibiotics that are also used in human
medicine,” the company says.
Perdue Farms’ announced in September that it’s
going to stop using antibiotics at its hatcheries.
Tyson said it continues to use FDA-approved
antibiotics in chicken feed, “but only when prescribed by a veterinarian to
treat or prevent disease.”
The “vast majority” of the antibiotics are
“never used in humans,” the company said.
It steered carefully clear of the now-notorious
term “growth promotants” to describe how antibiotics were traditionally
marketed to the chicken industry.
