The wave of reduction of antibiotics in food continues, as one of the top U.S. chicken producers Foster Farms plans to eliminate antibiotics from chicken.
The overuse of antibiotics is becoming an epidemic in the United States, as they are prescribed for almost everything. The issue with over consuming antibiotics is that they kill good bacteria in the gut, making it more difficult to fight infections in the future. When human antibiotics are used on animals, they can make it into food and contribute to antibiotic resistance.
This move from Foster Farms comes after its main competitor Tyson announced that they would remove antibiotics from their chicken.
Foster Farms will stop using all antibiotics that are used for humans, except for when the poultry has a health risk.
The reputation of Foster Farms took a hit when they experienced an outbreak of salmonella in 2013. Ira Brill, the director of marketing services states that the outbreak did not cause them to eliminate antibiotics.
Foster Farms will produce an estimated 40 million pounds of antibiotic-free chicken every year and will release a line of organic chicken without antibiotics, along with a separate line of non-organic chicken without antibiotics.
“As demand for antibiotic-free products grew in the marketplace, of course we respond with products,” Ira Brill said.
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REFERENCES:
1. “Foster Farms Backs Away from Using Human Antibiotics in Poultry.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 01 June 2015. Web. 01 June 2015.
2. “Foster Farms to Curb Antibiotics Use in Its Chicken.” WSJ. Wall Street Journal, 1 June 2015. Web. 01 June 2015.
3. “Foster Farms Recalls Chicken Tied to Salmonella Outbreak.” WSJ. Wall Street Journal, 4 July 2014. Web. 01 June 2015.
