Cooks Venture, a pasture-raised-chicken company that sells heirloom birds raised by growers using regenerative agriculture practices, is rolling out a meatier "No Antibiotics Ever" label.
The company, based in Decatur, said it has worked with Food In-Depth, a firm that tests pork, beef and poultry for antibiotics and holds companies accountable for their brand label claims, to provide more consumer transparency in the market.
For the past two years, Cooks said Food In-Depth has provided rigorous, regular on-site testing to ensure that its labels are verified and accurate. In that regard, it claims to be the first and only poultry producing company to test every flock for antibiotics.
The labels, expected to roll out immediately, are green with a QR link that offers information about what drug tests were involved, the testing methodology used and other data.
The overuse of antibiotics and drugs in meat animals and the implications that it has on public health has been a concern since the turn of the century. It is accelerating antimicrobial resistance in humans, which can lead to higher medical costs, prolonged hospital stays and increased mortality, according to the World Health Organization. After feeling pressure from customers and consumers, producers like Tyson Foods and Perdue took steps to address concerns and by 2017 started marketing their products with "No Antibiotics Ever" labels.
The removal of antibiotics raised concern in the poultry market about animal welfare issues related to increased mortality and loss of production, with farmers growing weary of its adverse effect on pay.
A study published Thursday in Science magazine found that these types of labels approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the beef cattle market do not require antibiotic testing to validate them, providing incentives for parties throughout the supply chain to cheat or limit scrutiny. It is estimated that about 70% of the antibiotics used in the U.S. are given to animals raised for food.
Matthew Wadiak, Cooks Venture's chief executive officer and founder, said in a written statement that its partnership with Food In-Depth offers third-party verification so customers can be confident in its claims.
"We never use antibiotics and our chickens are 100% [not genetically modified]," Wadiak said.
According to the Science magazine study, among the more than 9 billion animals slaughtered in the U.S. for meat each year, the USDA tests fewer than 7,000 for antibiotics.
The National Chicken Council, an industry advocate, is a supporter of antibiotics in chickens only to treat and prevent disease, not to promote growth.
Of the antibiotics used in treating chickens, ionophores are some of the most common and not used in human medicine, the council said. Federal rules require any antibiotics used in food production clear the animals' systems before they can leave the farm.