Perdue Foods stops using antibiotics in chicken hatcheries

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Perdue Foods has removed all antibiotics from its chicken hatcheries. But shoppers could pay the price at the check-out line.

The company said it has not used antibiotics for growth production since 2007. The only antibiotic their chickens may receive is an animal-only antibiotic used to control an intestinal parasite or antibiotics prescribed by veterinarians to treat and control other illnesses.

"By no longer using any antibiotics in our hatcheries or any human antibiotics in feed, we've reached the point where 95 percent of our chickens never receive any human antibiotics, and the remainder receive them only for a few days when prescribed by a veterinarian," said Dr. Bruce Stewart-Brown, Senior Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Live Operations for Perdue Foods.

It has taken Perdue five years to fully eliminate the use of antibiotics in its hatcheries. The company made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the move is in response to its customers.

Analysts said the decision will likely cost consumers more. But Perdue has not said how much.