Tyson Continues Effort to Cut Antibiotics From Production Process
by March 11, 2015 3:44 pm 106 views
The Reuters news organization reported Wednesday that Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. has removed a key antibiotic for human use from its hatcheries.
The drug, gentamicin, and other antibiotics haven’t been used at any of the company’s hatcheries since Oct. 1, according to the report.
Meat companies have used the drugs both to stave off disease and to promote more rapid growth. The poultry industry has long been under pressure to stop feeding medically important antibiotics to otherwise healthy livestock.
Tyson has reduced the volume of medically-important antibiotics used in its chicken business by 84 percent since 2011, according to the report.
Gentamicin has been commonly used in hatcheries to fight off infection or prevent disease, including in fertilized eggs, livestock veterinarians and other poultry producers say.