Chick-fil-A to allow some antibiotics in its chicken

Chick-fil-A is changing its chicken. The company announced the upcoming switch from No Antibiotics Ever to No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine in an update on their website last week.

There are three Chick-fil-A locations in the Rochester area — East Ridge Road in Irondequoit, Marketplace Drive in Henrietta and West Ridge Road in Greece. The restaurant chain operates dozens of other locations across the state, including those at a number of New York State Thruway service areas.

In 2014, the company moved to antibiotic-free chicken, meaning antibiotics of any kind were not used in raising the animal. Now, Chick-fil-A is altering that commitment by adopting the NAIHM label, which the company says “restricts the use of those antibiotics that are important to human medicine and commonly used to treat people.”

However, it does allow the use of animal antibiotics if the animal and those around it get sick, the company said.

“As we looked to the future, the availability of high-quality chicken that meets our rigid standards became a concern,” Chick-fil-A told USA TODAY in a statement. “This change enables us to not only ensure we can continue to serve high-quality chicken, but also chicken that still meets the expectations our customers count on us to deliver.”

Chick-fil-A sources their chicken from U.S. farms in accordance with their own ‘Animal Wellbeing Standards’, which requires the company’s chicken suppliers to hatch, raise and harvest the chickens in the U.S.; use climate-controlled, cage-free barns; raise the chickens with proper nutrition; and minimize stress before harvesting.

The company also established an ‘Animal Wellbeing Council’ comprised of outside experts, who provide feedback on policies and practices.