Chick-fil-A has announced a major change. Starting this spring, they'll switch from antibiotic-free chicken. This move is due to supply reasons.
The company aims to keep supplying high-quality chicken. They're shifting to No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine (NAIHM) in Spring 2024. The specific rollout date is still undecided.
What's the difference? NAE chicken means no antibiotics at all. NAIHM chicken limits use to those not important for treating humans, using them only if the animal is sick.
This isn't Chick-fil-A's first policy shift. They first moved to antibiotic-free chicken in 2014, achieving this goal across all restaurants by 2019.
Looking ahead, Chick-fil-A expressed concerns about maintaining their chicken quality. "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," said a spokesperson.
This update was also shared with Chick-fil-A app users. It's part of a trend, as Panera Bread made a similar move with its pork and turkey products.
Even Tyson Foods, which had gone antibiotic-free in 2017, reintroduced certain antibiotics last summer. They cited similar reasons for their decision.