April 22, 2015
Pilgrim's Pride target: 25% of chicken production antibiotic-free by 2019
The US' second-largest poultry processor, Pilgrim's Pride, said 25% of its chicken production by 2019 would be antibiotic-free, up from the current 5%, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"We have a plan, a very definitive plan, where by the end of 2018, something over 25% of all of our production will be antibiotic-free," Bill Lovette, chief executive of Pilgrim's, was quoted as saying.
Lovette said the projection was based on commitments with existing customers and that it could increase depending on the number of customers (restaurants and food companies) desiring chickens raised without antibiotics.
To help reduce its reliance on antibiotics to prevent disease, Lovette said the company has invested in probiotics and biosecurity measures. Probiotics are substances that encourage the growth of natural healthy bacteria helpful to the digestive systems.
He added that Pilgrim's would also eliminate the use of antibiotics used to treat human illnesses from its hatcheries by late 2016.
