Perdue’s recent announcement that the company is now raising more than half of its chicken with no antibiotics of any kind – human or animal – is good news for the rising number of operators who want to capitalize on the growing demand for No Antibiotics Ever protein. In a recent survey, Technomic found that 56% of consumers thought premium poultry (for example, no antibiotics ever, cage free and organic poultry) should be available at the restaurants they visit, and 63% said they were willing to pay more for premium poultry.1
While some other chicken companies and some major foodservice operators are promising to remove human antibiotics from chicken production, Perdue goes the extra step by completely eliminating the use of any antibiotics in its NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™ foodservice products.
“We believe consumers are concerned about the use of all antibiotics, not just some,” said Chairman Jim Perdue. “That is why we’re giving foodservice operators a choice that carries transparency and confidence,” said Chairman Jim Perdue. Across its HARVESTLAND®, PERDUE® and KINGS DELIGHT® brands, Perdue offers a wide variety of NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™ products in foodservice, plus a growing number of NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™ turkey and pork items.
RAISING CONSUMER AWARENESS
Perdue recently announced expanded retail distribution of its PERDUE® SIMPLY SMART® NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™ and PERDUE® HARVESTLAND® NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™ chicken, including an advertising and consumer education campaign designed to help consumers understand the difference between “NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™” and other recent claims that still use some antibiotics.
“The retail campaign, which includes TV advertising, online promotions and billboards, will increase consumer awareness of Perdue’s ‘no antibiotics ever’ products, and we expect this to have an added positive impact on restaurant patrons,” said Doug Wickman, Vice President of Foodservice Marketing and Business Development. “Plus, with Perdue Foodservice, operators don’t have to wait for ‘no antibiotics ever’ products – we have them now.”
1 Technomic, “Consumer Attitudes Towards Value-Added Poultry in Foodservice,” October 2014
“Since Perdue eliminated the routine use of human antibiotics, other poultry companies have responded with a confusing array of promises: consumers aren’t
sure what they’re eating,” said Eric Christianson, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Innovation. “Our ‘no antibiotics ever’ products give operators who want to serve chicken raised without any antibiotics a clear choice – one that’s available right now, not months or years away.”
NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER LEADERSHIP
While some other companies are promising future reductions in antibiotic use, Perdue has been leading the way, earning praise from numerous consumer and public interest groups, and reinforcing trust in Perdue’s NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™ products.
Chicken companies typically use antibiotics four ways. Human antibiotics are injected into the egg in the hatchery. Human antibiotics can also be put into the feed for faster growth promotion. Or human antibiotics can be mixed with the water or feed to treat or prevent disease. The fourth way is to use animal-only antibiotics.
“We completely eliminated the first two uses in September of 2014, and have improved the way we raise chickens so that 96% of our flocks never require treatment with a human antibiotic,” explained Bruce Stewart Brown, DVM, Perdue’s Senior Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Live Production. “However, we didn’t stop there. We’re going to continue to reduce our use of animal-only antibiotics, so that we’re raising as many chickens as we can with no antibiotics of any kind – and offering that choice to consumers.”
ABOUT PERDUE FOODSERVICE
Perdue Foodservice provides premium, high-quality branded chicken, turkey and select beef and pork products for operators in all segments of foodservice. Our diverse product lines offer operators many choices, but all have our same commitment to high quality and wholesomeness. The lines include leading brands in conventional and NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™ proteins, including PERDUE®, HARVESTLAND®, KINGS DELIGHT® and CLUX DELUX® brands.
Perdue Foods LLC is a division of Perdue Farms Inc., a leading international food and agriculture business providing high-quality products in more than 70 countries. Privately held and family-run for three generations, the company employs 19,000 associates and partners with 2,100 independent farm families.
Source: Perdue Foodservice
