Tyson Label Revoked

[Mike]

USDA Revokes OK for Tyson Chicken Labels
By MARCUS KABEL – 9 hours ago

Tyson Foods Inc. plans to revise labels that say its fresh chicken is "raised without antibiotics" after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it made a mistake in approving labels that use that term.

The world's largest meat processor said it has been in discussions with the USDA since at least September about the label it introduced this summer in a major marketing campaign for its fresh chicken.

According to a Nov. 6 letter from the USDA, the agency told Tyson it had mistakenly overlooked a feed additive, called ionophores, used for Tyson's chicken when it approved the no-antibiotics label. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has a long-standing policy of classifying ionophores as antibiotics, according to the letter.

But Tyson said Monday that ionophores are not antibiotics and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not consider them antibiotics.

"We stand by the truthfulness of our product labels and remain fully committed to our Raised Without Antibiotics chicken program. We also expect no disruption in service to our customers," the Springdale, Ark.-based company said in a statement.

The letter, which was not immediately made public, was reported Monday by The Wall Street Journal. Amanda Eamich, a spokeswoman for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, confirmed that the agency told Tyson Foods to remove the label.

"It was a mistake on our part and we are now correcting it," she told The Associated Press.

Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said the company plans to submit for USDA approval a new label that still says "raised without antibiotics" but adds some qualifying language about ionophores.

The USDA has given Tyson a temporary stay of 45 days from Nov. 6 to submit a new label and new arguments, to change its feed formula, or to stop using the label.

Tyson said the additional wording it plans will state that no ingredients have been used that could create antibiotic resistance in humans.

"Ionophores are not used in human medicine and do not contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance to important human drugs. They remain in the intestinal tract of the animal and do not carry over into the meat consumed by humans," Tyson's statement said.

The company said ionophores are permitted by the federal government in chicken feed as a preventive measure against coccidiosis, an intestinal illness.

The USDA's Eamich said Tyson could take several steps, such as removing the label, changing the feed formulation or just changing the label's statement in any way so it is accurate and "not misleading."

"We're open to any process the company submits, and we will evaluate it with documentation they provide," she said.

Tyson announced in June it would no longer use antibiotics to raise chicken that is sold fresh in stores and would promote the new product as part of a $70 million advertising campaign.

Tyson, the country's second largest chicken producer after Pilgrim's Pride Corp., said at the time that fresh chicken makes up less than 10 percent of the company's sales, which also include pork and beef.

A number of other Tyson products, like chicken nuggets and other frozen items, are not sold under the "Raised Without Antibiotics" label.

Associated Press writer Christine Simmons in Washington contributed to this report.

 

[HAY MAKER]

:lol2:
could'nt be more deserving..................good luck
PS like they say..........chicken today,feathers tomorrow. :wink:

 

[Tex]

Title: IONOPHORES: THEIR USE AS RUMINANT GROWTH PROMOTANTS AND IMPACT ON FOOD SAFETY

Authors
item Callaway, Todd
item Edrington, Thomas
item Rychlik, J - OREGON HEALTH SCI UNIV
item Genovese, Kenneth
item Poole, Toni
item Jung, Yong Soo
item Bischoff, Kenneth
item Anderson, Robin
item Nisbet, David

Submitted to: Current Issues in Intestinal Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 27, 2003
Publication Date: July 20, 2003
Citation: CALLAWAY, T.R., EDRINGTON, T.S., RYCHLIK, J.L., GENOVESE, K.J., POOLE, T.L., JUNG, Y., BISCHOFF, K.M., ANDERSON, R.C., NISBET, D.J. IONOPHORES: THEIR USE AS RUMINANT GROWTH PROMOTANTS AND IMPACT ON FOOD SAFETY. CURRENT ISSUES IN INTESTINAL MICROBIOLOGY. 2003. V. 4. P. 43-51.

Interpretive Summary: Ionophores are antibiotics (not related to drugs used in human medicine) that are fed to cattle to improve growth. Ionophore use saves the U. S. cattle industry $1 billion each year. Research results suggest that the use of ionophore antibiotics to enhance livestock production efficiency will not contribute to the unwanted phenomenon of antibiotic resistance. Additionally, they appear to be inconsequential in regard to the occurrence of food borne pathogenic microorganisms in living animals or the meat products derived from these animals.




There is no question Tyson is trying to deceive the public, just as Cargill.

mrj supports this deception by supporting big business and their profits over ethical and moral conduct.

By the way, when shopping at Sam's, I looked at some of these "antibiotic free" chickens. They did not have the USDA code on them where you could track them to the complex of production.

 

[Anonymous]

Could it be a little of the heat of a new Congress and these Congressional inspection and labeling hearings is finally sinking in to a few in the USDA :???: Now if we could start slapping a few into prison for conspiracy or accepting bribes--maybe we could shake them up some more.....

If these hearings do nothing else--they are awakening millions of consumer/voters thru shows like Lou Dobbs to the ineptness, irresponsibility, and scandalous actions of this Administration and the FDA/USDA/CPSC.......

 

[Tex]

Could it be a little of the heat of a new Congress and these Congressional inspection and labeling hearings is finally sinking in to a few in the USDA :???: Now if we could start slapping a few into prison for conspiracy or accepting bribes--maybe we could shake them up some more.....

If these hearings do nothing else--they are awakening millions of consumer/voters thru shows like Lou Dobbs to the ineptness, irresponsibility, and scandalous actions of this Administration and the FDA/USDA/CPSC.......

If you crawl in bed with some of these greed diseased folks you are likely to get a disease. Now the disease is starting to show the symptoms to the public.

 

[mrj]

Do any of you boys actually raise cattle out in pastures?

Do you have any wild turkeys in those pastures?

Wild turkeys can and do carry coccidiosis which will infect cattle, causing significant death loss in weaned calves, that I know of, probably in other cattle as well. Judging by the fact there are various animals and birds carrying e coli, it seems reasonable to belive there are other wild critters carrying coccidiosis, and they may pass it along to YOUR cattle, assuming you do raise cattle in pastures.

Ionophores do not leave residues in the meat. They are NOT of the same class as human use antibiotics.

You all may be making so much money you can disregard the losses to livestock producers due to diseases easily controlled with low level antibiotics AND ionophores. I won't agree that ionophores are truly antibiotics till I see it stated by a recognized Ag focused university. Not saying it isn't, just that some groups stating it on the internet has no credibility without identification of their sources, IMO.

No matter how often you boys tell lies, they won't become truth.

mrj

Do you have ANY valid testimony to refute the above statements

 

[Anonymous]

Maxine-- I've never had cattle in a pasture situation get coccidiosis-and they can run side by side with grouse and pheasants and sage hens- But I have had confined cattle in the lots get it....I think its one of the plus's of pasture raised cattle-- Maybe Mother Nature is telling us something :???:

Either the industry will do something about the dosing of healthy animals with antibiotics--and the truthful labeling of antibiotic dosed livestock--- or the government will be forced to do it...

Since the Maxines of the world and cattle/beef/packing industry groups refuse to do it on their own- or come up with truthful transparent labeling- I look for it to be outlawed completely ( with much stricter rules than most want to see) within the next 4-5 years-- maybe even sooner....

The same will occur with steroids/implants...
Remember Maxine--we are in a global trade world now-- and the rest of the world says these uses are detrimental to consumers.... :wink:

All most consumers are asking for is TRUTHFULNESS-- but thats something it appears the Packer Mafia and their kissing cousins at NCBA don't understand......

 

[Tex]

Do any of you boys actually raise cattle out in pastures?

Do you have any wild turkeys in those pastures?

Wild turkeys can and do carry coccidiosis which will infect cattle, causing significant death loss in weaned calves, that I know of, probably in other cattle as well. Judging by the fact there are various animals and birds carrying e coli, it seems reasonable to belive there are other wild critters carrying coccidiosis, and they may pass it along to YOUR cattle, assuming you do raise cattle in pastures.

Ionophores do not leave residues in the meat. They are NOT of the same class as human use antibiotics.

You all may be making so much money you can disregard the losses to livestock producers due to diseases easily controlled with low level antibiotics AND ionophores. I won't agree that ionophores are truly antibiotics till I see it stated by a recognized Ag focused university. Not saying it isn't, just that some groups stating it on the internet has no credibility without identification of their sources, IMO.

No matter how often you boys tell lies, they won't become truth.

mrj

Do you have ANY valid testimony to refute the above statements

You are such an idiot, mrj. Read the peer reviewed article above. It says ionophores are antibiotics. You can't advertise antibiotic free unless you don't use these substances. Consumers deserve the truth, not what you serve up.

You are a bumpkin and prove it over and over again.

Have a happy Thanksgiving.

Is it a custom on your ranch to feed ionophores?

Here is another:

Antimicrobial Growth Promoters Used in Animal Feed: Effects of Less Well Known Antibiotics on Gram-Positive Bacteria
Patrick Butaye,* Luc A. Devriese, and Freddy Haesebrouck

Laboratory of Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology, Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ghent, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium

There are not many data available on antibiotics used solely in animals and almost exclusively for growth promotion. These products include bambermycin, avilamycin, efrotomycin, and the ionophore antibiotics (monensin, salinomycin, narasin, and lasalocid). Information is also scarce for bacitracin used only marginally in human and veterinary medicine and for streptogramin antibiotics. The mechanisms of action of and resistance mechanisms against these antibiotics are described. Special emphasis is given to the prevalence of resistance among gram-positive bacteria isolated from animals and humans. Since no susceptibility breakpoints are available for most of the antibiotics discussed, an alternative approach to the interpretation of MICs is presented. Also, some pharmacokinetic data and information on the influence of these products on the intestinal flora are presented.

Perhaps you would like to join Clinton on the definition of "is". Your stubborness exceeds your intelligence time and time again.