Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics" - Consumerist Comments

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

lucy2 — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:18:24 EDT

My son has allergies to antibiotics and it doesn't matter whether the antibiotics are given to him or to a chicken or cow that he later eats. He does get bad reactions to both. We find that organic meat is the one way to have an uncontaminated food supply. Having eaten this way for years, I often wonder if people who eat regular chicken and beef have a resistance to the meds they've been taking for years. For some of us this isn't optional.

lucy2

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

LibraryGeek — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:44:57 EDT

Amelie,
While it would be great to know a country of origin -- it is very complicated in the case of pharmaceuticals. Several country's borders may be crossed in the process of making a pharmaceutical. Various inactive ingredients (making up the liquid, tablet powder, or capsuls that hold the medication) may come from more than one company, meanwhile another place will make the active ingrediants, then the actual medication may be made in yet another place and yet another company might be involved in the packaging and distribution. So, the question becomes -- which country is the origin? That is why I think we need to better fund the FDA (they are horribly underfunded, mandates are passed and then not funded on a regular basis) and, in turn the FDA needs more inspectors in the field.

LibraryGeek

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Rectilinear Propagation — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:48:03 EDT

@vasquire32: But that doesn't make it OK for them to lie about what they're doing.
Why should I believe that the antibiotics they use don't "impact antibiotic resistance in humans" when they lied about using the antibiotics in the first place?

They already had a disclaimer for the antibiotic statement. Would it have been so hard to add, "antibiotics given before hatching are safe for humans"?

Rectilinear Propagation

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

chrisjames — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:58:55 EDT

I like that Sanderson and Perdue stepped up and knocked the teeth out of Tyson's claim, instead of making the same claim on their own product. The "we must stay competitive" loophole has made it too easy for companies to price fix without conspiracy, or in this case advertise deceptively. "If your competitors are doing something bad, then you may do it as well to devoid the consumer base of choice and save a quick buck," forgetting the fact that you'd earn more business in the long run by working for consumer demand and against your competition.

chrisjames

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

kc2idf — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:54:29 EDT

There is really only one question that should be considered here: Is Tyson's claim true? If it is false, then smack 'em. If it is true, then it is up to the others to debunk the claim.

That goes for rBGH, genetic modification and irradiation, too.

kc2idf

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Kajj — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:13:28 EDT

@generalhousewifery: Not everybody has that luxury. Let's all remember that our cheap, industrialized food is what makes us one of the few countries on Earth where the poor don't starve. I want healthier food too, but I try to remember that having more money to spend on something doesn't make me a better person.

Kajj

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Edward Lionheart — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:49:53 EDT

This is so depressing. The federal government regulatory agency in charge of overseeing Tyson and its ilk didn't raise this issue. It was other giant disgusting chicken plants that cried "fou(w)l!" The three could have gotten together and agreed to peddle the same bull (so to speak) and no government agency would have uttered a cheep-cheep. Anyway, those chickens taste horrible. I'd rather spend double for a bird that was not only treated (relatively) well but tastes like chicken.

Edward Lionheart

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

jeffjohnvol — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:13:41 EDT

sorry for the double post.

jeffjohnvol

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

jeffjohnvol — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:13:09 EDT

Tyson, WalMart and the Clintons. Is there anything honest that comes from that beautiful state (Arkansas)?

jeffjohnvol

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

jeffjohnvol — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:11:12 EDT

Tyson, WalMart and Bill Clinton. Is anything from Arkansas not full of lies? LOL. Beautiful state though.

jeffjohnvol

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

generalhousewifery — Sat, 03 May 2008 22:06:09 EDT

@robyns: The whole money thing is completely true and completely sad. Healthy food should be accessible to everyone. Of course, the government shouldn't subsidize cheap, processed, unhealthy food but it's not like that's asking a lot or anything.

generalhousewifery

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

robyns — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:41:55 EDT

@generalhousewifery:
Agreed...I've pretty much stopped eating meat and dairy, and I prefer to buy local when I can. It gets expensive, so of course po' folk get the shaft once again.

robyns

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

generalhousewifery — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:57:47 EDT

@boxjockey68: That is really, really scary to me.

generalhousewifery

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

boxjockey68 — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:56:57 EDT

we stopped buying Tyson after my 4 year old refused to eat some saying it tasted like paint,when I tasted it & realized it DID taste like paint, we called Tyson to see if there was a known problem or if they would want to find out what's up...they could have cared less why their food tasted like paint so we haven't trusted them since.

boxjockey68

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Shinzou — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:52:19 EDT

To the person who asked what the asterisks were, I have some sitting in my fridge right now.

The note for "no hormones administered" is "federal regulation prohibit the use of hormones in chicken".

The note for "no artificial ingredients" is "no artificial ingredients, minimally processed".

There you go.

Shinzou

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Odwalla — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:11:21 EDT

@Murph1908:
Go Boilers!

Odwalla

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

generalhousewifery — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:04:33 EDT

@vasquire32: I don't eat chicken, but that's really not the point. I would rather pay a larger percentage of my income for trustworthy food. In fact, I try to seek out local and so on whenever I can, at great cost, because I firmly believe those foods are more nourishing to my body. Perfect world? No. But I'd rather have eggs from a guy who knows the chicken and milk from the husband and wife who take care of the cows than consume factory farmed Frankenfoods.

generalhousewifery

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

vasquire32 — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:01:51 EDT

You guys are too funny. Everyone's crying about these companies "messing with our food" but in reality, if they didn't add these preservatives and antibiotics, the food we love to eat SO MUCH OF would cost a lot more.

vasquire32

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

generalhousewifery — Sat, 03 May 2008 18:21:45 EDT

@fredzorz: No offense intended, but I think these days it's extremely important to use your judgment to determine whether or not to eat a food. The company puts things on the label in order to sell that product to you, so its in their best interest in today's climate of pro-seasonal, pro-local, pro-organic to make their product sound as seasonal, local, organic, etc. as possible. Tyson is a big, big chicken "making" company, and as such, I would never really believe that they weren't engaging in the nasty business associated with the business of factory farming. Before I buy (aka vote with your cash), I take a look at a company's history, business model, and so on, and see if I can live with it. Otherwise, I figure I can live without those products. Hey, I could use more salads, plums and so an as much as the next girl.

generalhousewifery

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Murph1908 — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:01:55 EDT

Perdue = Chicken Company

Purdue = University

Go Boilers

Murph1908

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

verucalise — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:55:13 EDT

Man, and I looooooove chicken. Better start just raisin' me own coop....

verucalise

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

timmus — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:45:17 EDT

Isn't a $26 billion multinational corporation just able to tie up the legal system with appeals and settlements? Somehow I can't picture them actually rolling over.

Also agree about Tyson... we stopped buying them a few years ago after learning that they were nothing but a massive factory farm.

timmus

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

BlogFather — Sat, 03 May 2008 15:41:17 EDT

I don't get it really. The people who buy Tyson chicken would have still bought it even without the bull shit claims.

BlogFather

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

ExecutorElassus — Sat, 03 May 2008 15:12:36 EDT

I really like in the picture how both secondary claims ("No Hormones Administered," "No Artificial Ingredients") appear to have asterisks. Can anybody who buys this stuff say whether those asterisks link to explanations, or - what I suspect - some legalese disclaimer?

"No Hormones!*"

"*except the following..."

ExecutorElassus

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Matt Redacted — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:50:01 EDT

I clicked the first link in the links section (Boston's Weekly Dig: November, 22, 2006: "Live Poultry Fresh Killed") and got Rick Roll'd!

Matt Redacted

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

mgy — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:48:13 EDT

@sir_eccles: Exactly - instead of lowering the trans fat, they just lowered the serving size. The FDA regulations are nothing more than a gigantic game.

mgy

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

stinerman — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:46:19 EDT

14 comments and no one mentioned the pun?

After the USDA initially cried foul...

Carey, I'm assuming that was intentional. Well done, sir!

stinerman

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Amelie — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:33:53 EDT

Tyson's false labeling comes as no surprise to me. I assumed it was a lie when I saw the packaging in my store. On the other hand, this food labelling crime, pales in comparison to the fact that drug labels don't have to indicate the country of origin of the ingredients. I would rather be eating Tyson chicken than taking ibuprofen that is partially or completely made in China.

Amelie

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

thelushie — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:31:40 EDT

@fredzorz: I agree with you. I am very disappointed and upset. I ate their chicken because it was raised with no anti-biotics. I guess companies lie. All I can say is that at least it was exposed.

thelushie

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

Amelie — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:31:29 EDT

@mgy: While some producers are using it to put hydrogenated fats in their product, the ruling is necessary since dairy products naturally have trans fat. If you wonder why some croissants for example, don't taste as good, its because they had to replace most of the butter with vegetable oil.

Amelie

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

VikingP77 — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:27:37 EDT

Tyson is a horrible company who treats their animals poorly! I never buy their products yuck!

VikingP77

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

fredzorz — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:22:36 EDT

Because I always try to eat healthy, and only organic, I have always thought of Tyson as a good brand, because they don't use antibiotics. After this, I have no faith in any company anymore. Nice going, you morons. You've become one step closer to going back to the standards of The Jungle. [en.wikipedia.org]

fredzorz

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

ConsumptionJunkie — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:17:03 EDT

But how long will they claim to be "100% All Natural?"
At least Capri Sun stopped claiming to be all natural.

ConsumptionJunkie

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

azntg — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:04:07 EDT

Busted! Damn... they mess with our food way too much in unimaginable ways. Sigh

azntg

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

RonDiaz — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:55:30 EDT

@mgy: I agree, the 0 grams trans fat is BS. if you see the word hydrogenated in the ingredients there IS trans fat.

RonDiaz

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

sir_eccles — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:51:02 EDT

@mgy: Such suspiciously small serving sizes too.

sir_eccles

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

ByeBye — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:38:30 EDT

The thing is, people actually see the labels and automatically think it is better. It's like the rBGH thing on Milk - no difference. Oh well, that is how our crappy society is. This does not affect me or my wife, as we will still buy this chicken still as it still tastes better than most crap out there.

ByeBye

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

chiieddy — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:26:46 EDT

I'm trying an experiment in less processed chicken today. I'm getting some Fresh killed chicken for dinner tonight. Thing is, there's no way to really tell how the chickens are raised before they get the axe.

chiieddy

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

mgy — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:14:35 EDT

My favorite trick is if you have less than half a gram per serving of trans fat, you can claim your product is "trans fat free"

mgy

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

BalknChain — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:53:35 EDT

BTW, Carey, again I'll say how much I enjoy reading some of the food processing beat you/Consumerist cover. The stories I could tell you.

BalknChain

Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"

BalknChain — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:51:43 EDT

It's shocking what food processors can get away with. Food has to be clearly labeled for the layman consumer. One example is caseinate which has to be identified as a milk derivitive. I can only imagine the potential fallout of this. It's clearly un undeclared addition to the food, before the hatching or not.

BalknChain