Ceased Operations May15, 2009
Message: Tyson - A dissenting view from academia
|
Tyson may be right on antibiotics
Tuesday, November 20, 2007, 3:27 PMby Peter Shinn Back in June, Tyson Foods announced it would produce its chicken without antibiotics to the widespread applause of consumer groups and those concerned about antibiotic resistance in humans. USDA approved Tyson's request to label its chicken as antibiotic-free, and Tyson began aggressively promoting its claim. But now USDA says it made a mistake. Earlier this month, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service withdrew its approval of Tyson's claim that its chicken is free of antibiotics. USDA officials told Dow Jones the approval should never have been granted. At issue is Tyson's use of a product in its chicken feed known as an ionophore, a chemical that kills coccidia, a parasite found in the intestines of chicken. And Kristjan Bregendahl, assistant professor of poultry nutrition for Iowa State University (ISU), told Brownfield that ionophores really aren't antibiotics as such. "They're technically different, from different groups, are categorized differently, because one works against bacteria, one works against coccidia," Bregendahl explained. In fact, coccidiosis is such an endemic problem among poultry, Bregendahl said he uses an anti-coccidial ionophore on ISU's poultry research farm. And according to Bregendahl, Tyson probably can't simply stop using ionophores in its poultry feed. "I would hesitate to not use it," Bregendahl chuckled, "because it [coccidiosis] can cause severe disease and death in these animals here, in these broilers." According to a Dow Jones story, USDA and Tyson remain in negotiations over what kind of label-claim Tyson can make and still use ionophores. One reportedly under negotiation would allow Tyson to claim it uses no products that contribute to antibiotic resistance in humans. |
Loading...
Loading...
New Message
Please
login
to post a reply