Chick-Fil-A Announces Change to Its Chicken

Chick-Fil-A is announcing a big change to the chicken at all its locations. The fast-food chain is backtracking from its longtime "no antibiotics ever" pledge, saying in a statement that it will embrace a standard known as "no antibiotics important to human medicine" (NAIHM) due to supply reasons.

Livestock producers commonly use antibiotics to boost rapid weight gain in animals like chickens, pigs, cows and sheep. However, many nations have begun to restrict that practice as evidence mounted that it was contributing to drug resistance and reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics against disease in humans.

Chick-Fil-A will begin shifting to the new police in the spring of 2024, with a company spokesman adding that short supply is the reason for the policy change. "To maintain supply of the high-quality chicken you expect from us, Chick-Fil-A will shift from No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) to No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine (NAIHM) starting in the Spring of 2024," the announcement read.

Chick-Fil-A previously switched to antibiotic-free chicken in 2014 and eventually met its goal of serving antibiotic-free chicken at all of its restaurants in 2019.

"As we looked to the future, the availability of high-quality chicken that meets our rigid standards became a concern. This change enables us to not only ensure we can continue to serve high-quality chicken, but also chicken that still meets the expectations our customers count on us to deliver," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Similarly, Panera Bread also recently switched from its antibiotic-free policy in its pork and turkey products, writing that the policy limited its chain supply options, Reuters reports. Tyson Foods also announced last summer that it was reintroducing certain antibiotics to its chicken supply chain, having previously gone antibiotic-free in 2017.