Within the next five years, all chicken products sold at the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A will be antibiotics-free, company president Dan Cathy promised.
The restaurant will request its suppliers work with the Department of Agriculture and make sure their chickens aren’t fed antibiotics, CNN reported.
“Since our family business began 67 years ago, we have focused on our customers,” said Mr. Cathy, who’s also the CEO. “It’s why we insist on using the highest-quality ingredients. We want to continue that heritage and offering antibiotic-free chicken is the next step.”
Antibiotics are used to speed up animals’ growth. In 2011, nearly 30 million pounds of the medicine were sold to the meat and poultry industry — rather than used to fight disease in humans. Only 7.7 million pounds were sold for human-related reasons, Pew Charitable Trusts reported.
The Food and Drug Administration announced three months ago that certain antibiotics were going to be phased out for use in food production.
“Because all uses of antimicrobial drugs, in both humans and animals, contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance, it is important to use these drugs only when medically necessary,” the FDA said in a statement reported by CNN.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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