Food Safety Outbreak: Antibiotics
Tyson Foods advertised its chicken as “antibiotic-free,” while routinely treating them with two substances, Gentamicin and “ionophores,” with antibiotic properties. When challenged, Tyson said these substances were not used in humans and therefore did not cause human health concerns.
Routine administration of antibiotics to animals destined to become human food has been linked to the development of drug-resistant bacteria, a danger to human health.
Tyson Foods’ situation was brought to the USDA’s attention by a group of Tyson competitors including Perdue, Sanderson Farms, and others, which sued Tyson to force it to change its labeling. Calling it “unrealistic” to forgo systemic use of antibiotics, Tyson agreed to stop using the phrase “raised without antibiotics’ on its labels.
Tyson defended itself by saying that labeling rules on how a chicken was “raised” started with the second day of life, while Tyson’s eggs were treated with Gentamicin the day before they hatched.
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USDA says Tyson used antibiotics on chicken: Poultry producer being sued by competitors for labeling practices, by the Associated Press, June 3, 2008 on MSNBC, accessed August 4, 2010Gutierrez, D. Tyson. 2008. Foods Injects Chickens with Antibiotics Before They Hatch to Claim "Raised without Antibiotics". Natural News. November 9.
Shin, A. 2008. Court Orders Tyson to Suspend Ads For Antibiotic-Free Chicken. Washington Post. May 2, accessed August 5, 2010. Sources
