Tyson Foods plans to eliminate human antibiotic use by late 2017

Tyson Foods will eliminate the use of human antibiotics in its U.S. chicken flocks by the end of 2017. Tyson is a major supplier to McDonald’s who declared similar goals earlier this year under consumer pressures and growing industry debate about antibiotic use.

Springdale-based Tyson Foods is one of the largest suppliers of meat protein in the world with the No. 1 marketshare for chicken in the U.S. Tyson CEO Donnie Smith said Tuesday (April 28) that addressing antibiotic use is something Tyson has worked toward for several years.

“Antibiotic resistant infections are a global health concern,” Smith said. “We’re confident our meat and poultry products are safe, but want to do our part to responsibly reduce human antibiotics on the farm so these medicines can continue working when they’re needed to treat illness.”

Tyson has reduced antibiotics in its chicken operations since 2011. Last year Tyson Foods stopped using antibiotics in its 35 hatcheries for broilers. Tyson said any antibiotic used on farms requires a veterinary prescription and human grade antibiotic use has been reduced more than 84% during the past four years.

“Given the progress we’ve already made reducing antibiotics in our broilers, we believe it’s realistic to shoot for zero by the end of our 2017 fiscal year. But we won’t jeopardize animal well-being just to get there. We’ll use the best available treatments to keep our chickens healthy, under veterinary supervision,” Smith said.

Tyson Foods is also forming working groups with independent farmers and others in the company’s beef, pork and turkey supply chains to discuss ways to reduce the use of human antibiotics on cattle, hog and turkey farms. Those groups will begin meeting this summer.

The poultry industry has long claimed that antibiotic use is necessary at times to treat and prevent disease within flocks. The debate emerged in recent years as health advocate groups became concerned that prolonged use of antibiotics in animal production could promote antibiotic resistance in humans. The discussion which was first centered around environmental groups has spread to the Center for Disease Control in more recent years.

The National Resources Defense Council reports that 80% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used on cattle, pigs, poultry and other livestock, the vast majority to speed up growth and compensate for crowded, and often unsanitary conditions.

The Center for Disease Control brought more focus to antibiotic resistance risks in its 2013 report, “Antibiotic Resistance Threats.”

“Up to half of antibiotic use in humans and much of antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe,” the CDC noted.

Jonathan Kaplan of the NRDC said the poultry industry has relied on a loophole in Food and Drug Administration guidelines that allows for medically important antibiotics to prevent disease with no real limit on how much or how often the drugs are administered. He said McDonald’s recent move to phase out the use of medically important antibiotics over the next two years will ripple through the industry. Tyson Foods and Simmons Foods both supported McDonald’s recent commitment, telling The City Wire they were already working toward the goal within their own operations.

Animal welfare has long been part of the discussion among animal growers who now treat and then cull any birds that have received human-grade antibiotics. Those culled birds are not sold to McDonald’s or other customers requiring no-human antibiotics.

Ionophores, which are technically antibiotics, can be used in the chicken supply, because there is little evidence they contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistance in humans, Kaplan said.

“One of our core values is to serve as responsible stewards of animals – we will not let sick animals suffer,” Smith said. “We believe it’s our responsibility to help drive action towards sustainable solutions to this challenge by working with our chicken, turkey, beef and pork supply chains.”  

Tyson Foods’ international business is taking similar measures on antibiotic use in its global chicken operations but has not set a timeframe. Smith said today’s announcement will not materially affect the company’s financial performance.