Costco Wholesale Corp. is the latest company to announce its intentions of eliminating the sale of chicken and red meat from animals raised with antibiotics that are vital to fighting human infections, Reuters reports. The company does not have a target date for the goal, reflecting supply constraints with ABF meat items.
"We are working towards, and working with our suppliers and the regulatory agencies... to see how we can get rid of shared-use antibiotics in animals," Craig Wilson, vice president of food safety at the Issaquah, Washington-based retail giant, told Reuters. "I think all of us want to move to a point where we can get the human-use antibiotics out of the system. It's going to take time."
Wilson said Costco has been working with the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the goal of eliminating shared-use antibiotics. The Center for Veterinary Medicine is involved in the effort as well, he said.
