Click here to subscribe to the Sustainable Food News.

Tyson Foods, Inc., the world's largest chicken processor, said Tuesday it is now producing all of its Tyson brand fresh chicken from birds raised without antibiotics and selling the products at a price "substantially less" than most competing niche brands.

Tyson said the chicken products are being distributed nationwide this week under the company's "100% All Natural, Raised Without Antibiotics" brand in newly designed packaging.

"We are the first major poultry company to offer fresh chicken raised without antibiotics on a large scale basis and at an affordable price for mainstream consumers," said Dave Hogberg, senior vice president - Fresh Meal Solutions for Tyson. "Because of the size and scale of our operations, we're able to convert our entire branded business and assure supply to our customers."

Although the chicken will cost more, Tyson said its market research shows the higher price is well below the additional cost consumers say they are willing to pay for such products.

"According to our research, 91 percent of consumers agree it's important to have fresh chicken produced and labeled 'raised without antibiotics,'" said Dick Bond, Tyson president and chief executive officer.

Last month, the company switched its entire foodservice line of marinated, uncooked chicken to the "100 percent All Natural" brand thanks to its proprietary Enhanced Flavor Technology (EFT).

The term "natural" may be used on labeling for meat and poultry products provided they do not contain any artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredient, or chemical preservative, or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

The policy also said a product and its ingredients are not allowed to be "more than minimally processed." Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson is also the largest processor of beef and pork, and is the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500.

The company said it expects to convert its Tyson Deli Rotisserie and Marinated Raw Breaded eight-piece items to "Raised Without Antibiotics" starting early next month and Tyson retail individually quick frozen chicken by the end of August.

Tyson said it uses therapeutic antibiotics only to treat or prevent disease in a "very small percentage" of its poultry flocks and will continue to do so on birds when necessary, but products from those birds will not be sold under the "Raised Without Antibiotics" label.

Tyson is promoting "100% All Natural, Raised Without Antibiotics" chicken as part of the company's new $70 million marketing campaign titled "Thank You." The marketing plan includes TV and radio advertising, plus strong consumer promotions to drive new and repeat purchases.

 

For more information on this topic or related issues you can search the thousands of archived articles on the OCA website using keywords:

Become an OCA Member! Sign up below:

First Name
Last Name
Email
Email Preference	HTML EmailText Email
Phone
Street
Street 2
City
State	Select One... Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Other
Zip
Country	United StatesAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCongoCongDemocratic Republic of theCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicIvory CoastDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGambiTheGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKoreNorthKoreSouthKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacedoniFormer Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiFederated States ofMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and The GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbia and MontenegroSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe