Tyson Foods to drop ‘no antibiotics ever’ label on some chicken products- WSJ

(Reuters) -Tyson Foods is reintroducing certain antibiotics to its chicken supply chain, and will drop its “no antibiotics ever” tagline from Tyson-branded chicken products, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

This will involve drugs that “are not important” to human health and will apply to all fresh, frozen and ready-made products under its brand, the report said.

The antibiotics that Tyson plans to add to some of its chickens’ diets are known as ionophores, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.

Ionophores are mainly used to control a disease in poultry called coccidiosis, maintain intestinal integrity, and help deliver good bird health. According to the report, the World Health Organization does not consider them to be medically important for treating human illnesses.

In 2017, the U.S. meatpacker had switched its retail line of company-branded chicken products to birds raised without any antibiotics.

Tyson did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.