Cargill Continues To Crack Down On Antibiotic Use In Turkey Products

10 Aug 2016 --- Turkey meat manufacturers Cargill have announced that it will end the use of the antibiotic gentamicin in its products, continuing its commitment to reducing antibiotics in its products.

A new line of antibiotic free turkey products has also been announced.

The continued reductions of antibiotics come after the use of all growth promoting antibiotics were dropped by the company in 2014.

Gentamicin, an antibiotic used in both human and animal healthcare for disease prevention, was used in turkeys harvested for two of Cargill’s largest brands, Honeysuckle White and Shady Brook Farms.

Although the use of gentamicin has ended, turkeys will continue to receive antibiotics for control and treatment of disease. Cargill’s turkey products covered by this decision will be available in the marketplace by January 1, 2017.

“Eliminating antibiotic use for disease prevention purposes is the next logical step after ending the use of antibiotics for growth promotion purposes, which we began in 2014,” said Jan Hood, head of marketing for the Cargill turkey business. “Based on consumer research and their desire for transparency in food production, we developed the Honest Turkey product line, which communicates the turkeys are raised without antibiotics.”

In addition to the removal of gentamicin from its main brands, Cargill is also expanding its antibiotic-free turkey products through the creation of its new Honest Turkey product line. These products will be differentiated from conventional turkey offerings because they come from turkeys that are never treated with antibiotics.

Tim Maupin, head of turkey agriculture operations for Cargill explained, “To successfully meet the increasing demand from our customers for antibiotic-free turkey, we start with a larger number of birds than required knowing a percentage may become ill, require antibiotics and be removed from our antibiotic-free turkey program.” He added, “We have an obligation to treat turkeys that get sick because we want healthy birds and it’s the right thing to do.”

Commenting on Cargill’s decisions surrounding antibiotics, John Niemann, president of Cargill’s Wichita-based turkey business stated, “As part of our decision-making process, we weighed the desires of our customers and consumers to ensure the long-term effectiveness of antibiotics for people and animals, while also maintaining our commitment to the health of turkeys raised for food,” 

Niemann added, “When needed, we believe the judicious use of antibiotics in animal agriculture helps assure a safe food supply. At Cargill, we remain committed to exploring fact-based technologies as alternatives to antibiotics, and to the reduced use of shared-class antibiotics when the efficacy of a given technology has been proven effective and economical.”