Tyson stops use of antibiotics in hatcheries

Tyson stops use of antibiotics in hatcheries

Tyson Foods Inc. says it has stopped using antibioticsin all its 35 hatcheries since October 1.

In a post on its website, the company said its "veterinarians, researchers and hatchery managers successfully developed and tested new protocols that will enable us to discontinue the use of antibiotics in our hatcheries."

Tysonis the latest major food company to reduce or eliminate the use of antibiotics in livestock production. In September, Perdue Foods announced it was limiting the use of antibiotics in poultry production in response to growing concerns about antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

"Since the antibiotic typically used in hatcheries is important to human health," Tyson Foods said, "this is a significant first step toward our goal of reducing the use of antibiotics that are also used in human medicine."

"Healthy animals mean safe and healthy food, so we''re committed to making sure the livestock and poultry we depend on are raised responsibly," Tyson says, adding that its "philosophy is to use antibiotics only as needed and only when prescribed by a veterinarian.

While its hatcheries will be antibiotics-free, its chicken farms will "sometimes use FDA-approved antibiotics in the feed, but only when prescribed by a veterinarian to treat or prevent disease."

It underscored, however, that the "vast majority of the antibiotics used to raise our chickens are never used in humans." And Tyson, it added, continues to look for "alternative treatments and protocols that will eventually eliminate the application of any antibiotics used in human medicine from poultry feed."

Tyson admits it has little control over its beef and pork, since they come from cattle and hogs raised by independent farmers.

But "while we don''t control the veterinary care of these animals," it said, "we work with farmers and livestock industry groups to make sure antibiotics are used responsibly."

"When antibiotics are used in our pork, beef or chicken supply chain, only FDA-approved antibiotics are used and FDA approved withdrawal periods are followed," Tyson said, adding that "the USDA regularly tests beef, pork and chicken products for antibiotic residues."