USDA wants removal of Tyson’s “no antibiotics label”

According to the USDA, Tyson spent millions on advertising and promotion campaigns to boost the sales of its products. Meanwhile, Tyson Foods said that it stands by the truthfulness of its product labels and remains fully committed to its “Raised without Antibiotics” chicken programme. The company added that it expects no disruption in service to its customers.

Tyson had previously received approval from the USDA in May to label its products as ‘raised without antibiotics’. However, Tyson’s poultry-feed formulations still contain ionophores, which are antibiotics according to the FSIS policy.

Tyson said in a statement, “We do not believe ionophores are antibiotics. FDA is the agency Congress has authorised to regulate animal drugs and it specifically excludes ionophores from the list of animal drugs deemed as antibiotics.”

Tyson noted that ionophores are in a different class than antibiotics and are recognized and approved by the federal government as a safe feed ingredient. The company added that ionophores are permitted in chicken feed as a preventive measure against coccidiosis, an intestinal illness. Tyson stated that ionophores remain in the intestinal tract of the animal and do not carry over into meat consumed by humans.

Tyson reportedly has 45 days to remove the labels from its products or stop using ionophores. In addition, the USDA gave the company the option of petitioning it to initiate a public-comment period on whether ionophores could be used in meat and poultry products labelled as “raised without antibiotics”. Tyson was also reportedly given an option of submitting a new label application with new documentation.

 

Tyson Foods 
US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)