News

National Chicken Council rolls out “Chicken Guarantees”

The National Chicken Council has rolled out industry-wide standards for broiler chicken welfare.  Tom Super tells Brownfield there are four things that are true no matter what chicken a consumer eats.  They’re called “Chicken Guarantees”.

“The broiler was cage-free, they’re free of added hormones and steroids, the flock was monitored by a licensed veterinarian and it was raised by farmers trained in animal welfare,” said Super, during an interview with Brownfield Ag News, “so those four simple things are the guarantees.”

The standards are a consumer information resource about how meat chickens are raised, said Super.

“A recent survey found that 76 percent of Americans still mistakenly believe that chickens are given hormones, for example; 70 percent believe most chickens raised for meat are raised in cages, which they are not,” said Super, “and nearly two-thirds, 62 percent, said chicken labels and packaging were confusing.”

Super adds that by law, antibiotics are used only to clear up or prevent disease, and are withdrawn so that none are present when a chicken is slaughtered for food.

AUDIO: Tom Super (5 min. MP3)