New Label Logic: US Poultry Ditches ‘Antibiotic-Free’
Within the landscape of American poultry production, a quiet but significant shift is underway. Poultry producers across the United States are facing the challenge of meeting the ever-growing demand for chicken without relying on antibiotics. While once considered a staple tool in maintaining flock health and maximizing productivity, the widespread use of antibiotics in poultry farming has come under increasing scrutiny due to concerns about antimicrobial resistance and its impact on human health.
As stated in CNN Business:
“Chick-fil-A is ditching its “no antibiotics ever” promise. Chick-fil-A will back off its pledge never to serve chicken that was fed antibiotics, and instead it will embrace a looser industry standard: “no antibiotics important to human medicine.”
“About half of US poultry farmers use some form of antibiotics to help keep chickens healthy, according to Tyson.”
While some producers may refrain from using antibiotics throughout the entire production process, others may use them sparingly to treat specific health issues in their flocks. As a result, the blanket term “antibiotic-free” can be overly simplistic and fail to accurately describe the distinctions of antibiotic use in poultry farming. By moving away from this label, producers can provide consumers with a better perspective on their farming practices and offer greater transparency and trust within the industry.
To help aid antibiotic testing in the industry, Randox Food Diagnostics offers drug residue screening equipment for in-house screening of meat, urine, egg and feed samples on the Evidence Investigator analyser. This allows users to test up to 48 meat samples for antibiotics, growth promoters, anthelmintics, coccidiostats and steroids in under 2.5 hours using our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology.
A range of rapid and accurate ELISA kits have also been developed for antibiotic testing within meat tissues.
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