Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) has decided to phase out the use of antibiotics amid concerns that an overuse of antibiotics may put humans at risk. With this Tyson has become the latest chicken company to forego the use of antibiotics.
The company will be eliminating antibiotics use in its poultry over the next two years. The company said that it was doing its part in slowing the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans.
The head of sustainable food production at Tyson, Christine Daugherty, said that the company is committed to making sure that antibiotics retain their effectiveness on humans. The use of antibiotics to treat sick chicken is making the medicine less potent on humans and is resulting in the spread of drug-resistant bacteria. The food company has been under pressure from public safety advocates and consumers to come up with ways other ways to keep chickens healthy.
David Plunkett, a food safety expert at Center for Science in Public Interest, has called for a ban on the use of antibiotics in agriculture and has welcomed the move by Tyson. He stated that it was important antibiotics should not be used for growth promotion of poultry as that would create resistance.
In recent times, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) has said that it would only use poultry that are raised without certain types of antibiotics. Tyson is the primary supplier of chicken used in McNuggets. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) has also planned to remove genetically modified food.
Other chicken suppliers have also been taking steps to curb the use of antibiotics. Perdue Farms has reported that 95% if its chicken are not given antibiotics. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) is also reportedly scaling back the use of antibiotics.
Tyson has already begun reducing the use of antibiotics in its broiler chicken raised for meat. The company has announced that it would phase out the use of antibiotics by 2017.
