Rising demand for antibiotic-free poultry prompts search for alternative disease-control methods

Concern about antibiotic resistance in humans has already led European regulators to ban the use of several in-feed antibiotics in food animals. In the United States, legislators, backed by several leading medical organizations, have proposed similar action with The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, which would prohibit the use of several non-therapeutic antibiotics in food animals.

Organic market soars

Most pressure to eliminate the use of in-feed antibiotics in the United States, however, comes not from regulators but from consumers and is evidenced by the growth in sales of organic poultry. Consider the following information from sources such as the Organic Trade Association and the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture:

• Organic poultry in the United States, which must be raised without antibiotics to carry an “organic” label, saw an explosive 1,000% increase in production between 1997 and 2003.
• The number of organic broiler chickens in the United States rose from about
  38,000 in 1997 to over 6 million in 2003, representing a percentage increase of over 16,000%.
• Poultry is the fastest growing meat product in the U.S. organic market, with a
  market size estimated to be around $46 million and annual growth estimated to be 33% through 2008.
• Whole Foods Market, one of the world’s largest organic foods retailers, found in a 2004 survey that more people are eating organic products primarily because organic foods are considered to be better for their health and for the environment.

Changing paradigms

Conventional poultry producers as well as major purchasers of chicken have taken note of the natural food trend. In January 2006, USA Today reported that Tyson Foods, Gold Kist, Perdue Farms and Foster Farms — four of the nation’s top 10 chicken producers — had stopped using in-feed antibiotic growth promoters, although they still use antibiotics to treat disease outbreaks in chickens.

Major buyers of chicken, such as McDonalds, only purchase chicken from suppliers that do not use in-feed antibiotics or antibiotics that are used in people. At Bon Appétit Management Co., the fourth-largest US food service company, the policy is to buy poultry that has never received any antibiotic, even for disease prevention, according to the USA Today article.

It is clear that the trend toward antibiotic-free poultry production is gaining momentum, which poses challenges to producers who must find new, cost-effective ways to control infectious disease in their flocks.

Source: Schering-Plough