New York – Tyson Foods no longer will use antibiotics to raise chicken that is sold fresh in stores and will launch a $70 million advertising campaign to tout the change, the nation’s largest meat producer said Tuesday.
The company said fresh chicken raised without antibiotics was shipped to stores Monday and will be sold beginning this week in packaging that emphasizes that there are no artificial ingredients.
“We’re providing mainstream consumers with products they want,” Tyson chief executive Richard L. Bond said.
Consumers will have to pay slightly more for the privilege, though. Tyson senior vice president Dave Hogberg declined to specify how much of an increase shoppers will see at stores but said it would be “below the cost consumers say they’re willing to pay.”
He added that competitors charge about $1.50 to $2 per pound more for boneless, skinless chicken breast without antibiotics and that the price hike for Tyson’s antibiotic-free chicken would be less than $1 per pound.
