Advocates Ask Foster Farms About Antibiotics Use

More than 30 advocate groups sent a letter to Foster Farms CEO Ron Foster this week asking the company to disclose its use of antibiotics and pledge to avoid routine use of the drugs in raising its chickens. This comes after a Salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 416 was linked to the company’s products. Concerned that many of the outbreaks strains found in patients were resistant to one or more commonly prescribed antibiotics, the signatories – including the Center for Food Safety, the Natural Resource Defense Council, and the Humane Society of the United States – want to see more transparency about how Foster Farms chickens are raised. “The spread of drug resistant bacteria throughout our communities and kitchens has threatened our health and contributed to the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance,” reads the letter. It goes on to say that Foster Farms can “help regain its credibility” by publishing a detailed description of the antibiotics the company uses in raising chickens, committing to using antibiotics responsibly, and verifying its progress through third-party audits.