Tyson to change 'no antibiotic' labels

Tyson Foods said it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a dispute over the labeling of poultry products.

The Arkansas-based poultry producer said it will change the company's product labels to say "chicken raised without antibiotics that impact antibiotic resistance in humans."

Tyson will phase in the new labeling language over the next several months, the company said Thursday in a release.

The USDA last month withdrew approval of the company's original "raised without antibiotics" label because the company uses ionophores as an ingredient in its chicken feed. The USDA said it considers ionophores a form of antibiotics.

Tyson said it currently plans to continue using ionophores, which are used as a preventive measure against an intestinal illness in chicken but are not used in human medicine.

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