Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A announced Thursday it has reached its goal of eliminating antibiotics from the chicken it uses.
In 2014, the restaurant announced the No Antibiotics Ever initiative, with a goal of serving only chicken raised free of the drug at its more than 2,400 restaurants nationwide.
“We know consumers care about how their food is made and where it comes from, including the use of antibiotics. Because it was important to our customers, it was important to us,” Matt Abercrombie, director of menu and packaging, said in a statement. “Chick-fil-A has always been committed to serving customers delicious food made with high-quality ingredients and offering No Antibiotics Ever chicken was the next step. Our goal was to pursue the highest standard and partner with the USDA to verify it.”
According to Chick-fil-A's website, its commitment is different because it allows no antibiotics of any kind — as defined by the FDA — starting from the egg.
“As leaders in the chicken industry, we felt that if anyone was going to commit to No Antibiotics Ever, it should be us. We worked with our suppliers to convert our chicken supply to No Antibiotics Ever, which was an industry-changing move, as the supply of No Antibiotics Ever chicken previously did not exist to match our scale,” Abercrombie said.
Chick-fil-A packaging will be changed in October to reflect this initiative.
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