Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the second-largest U.S. poultry processor, plans to eliminate all antibiotics from a quarter of its chicken production by 2019, up from about 5% currently, according to its chief executive.
Pilgrim's also is working to end its chicken operations' use of antibiotics needed to fight human illnesses, responding to mounting concerns among U.S. consumer groups and public-health officials that overuse of the products contributes to the spread of drug-resistant germs.
The plans by Pilgrim's mark one of the most aggressive timetables for reducing antibiotics use laid out by a U.S. poultry company, spotlighting consumer pressures to curb the use of drugs that have been widely fed to poultry and livestock since the 1950s.
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