The 2008 Label Debate

摘要

A labeling controversy, starring Spring-dale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc., grabbed center stage of the poultry industry in early 2008.rnIt all started in November 2007 when the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture informed Tyson Foods it could no longer make the "raised without antibiotics" claim on the labels of its fresh chicken. The agency publicly admitted it had made a mistake when it approved the label language earlier in the spring on the grounds that Tyson uses ion-ophores-compounds currently classified as antibiotics by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service in the company's feed. However, the USDA backed off its decision, re-examining the status of ionophores and entertaining proposals from Tyson to maintain the "raised without antibiotics" claim with the addition of qualifying or conditional language on its labels.