By David Pierson
Perdue Foods, the nation’s third-largest poultry producer, said it has removed all antibiotics from its chicken hatcheries to address growing concerns about bacterial resistance to the widely used drugs.
The Salisbury, Md.-based company said it invested in cleaner hatcheries that eliminate the need for antibiotics on eggs. The poultry industry often injects eggs with antibiotics after vaccinating them because small holes in the shell can expose the eggs to disease.
Perdue is the first major poultry producer to phase out antibiotics in hatcheries, according to the National Chicken Council.
Perdue said antibiotic use is now restricted to treating sick flocks and to control a common intestinal parasite. The company eliminated antibiotic use to promote growth in its birds in 2007. Perdue said 95% of its chickens are now free of so-called medically important antibiotics – antibiotics that have an equivalent in human medicine and therefore raise the risk of creating human resistance.
Read more by clicking on the following: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-perdue-antibiotics-20140903-story.html?track=rss
No comments:
Post a Comment