Fast food chain Chick-fil-A said this week that it will stop using antibiotic-fed birds for its products.
In a press release posted on the national company's webpage on Tuesday, Chick-fil-A announced its intention to scale back on using animals laced with antibiotics for sandwiches, nuggets and other menu items.
"Our commitment is to serve chicken raised without antibiotics in all Chick-fil-A restaurants, nationwide, within five years," the statement read. "We are collaborating with national and regional poultry suppliers to build a supply chain based on chickens raised with no antibiotics. We are asking suppliers to work with the USDA to verify that antibiotics are never administered from the hatchery to the processing plant."
The Food and Drug Administration recently put a new policy in place that requires drug companies to curb the amount of antibiotics given to sick animals, Oregon Live reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also tightened up on farms that overuse drugs for its livestock.
Policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports, Consumers Union, lauded Chick-fil-A's message.
"Chick-fil-A deserves credit for taking this important step to protect public health," director of food police for the Union Jean Halloran told Oregon Live. "We need to stop wasting these critical medications on healthy livestock. Grocery stores like Trader Joe's can make a big difference by no longer selling meat from animals that have been routinely fed antibiotics."
