USDA reverses course on Tyson Foods label issue.

USDA told Tyson Foods Inc. to halt labeling chicken as "raised without antibiotics" after the Ag Department acknowledged it made a mistake in initially approving the label. Tyson disputed the finding and said it hopes to win approval of a modified label.

In a Nov. 6 letter, USDA told Tyson that it had mistakenly overlooked a feed additive in Tyson's chicken when it approved the no-antibiotics label. Tyson said the additives, called ionophores, are not antibiotics but are antimicrobials. But USDA said its food safety arm considered ionophores to be antibiotics. Ionophores are commonly added to poultry feed to help prevent an intestinal colonization by coccidia, a single-celled organism that can lead to lower body weight or death in poultry.

The company has 45 days to remove the labels from its products or stop using ionophores. USDA gave the company the option of petitioning USDA to initiate a public-comment period on whether ionophores could be used in meat and poultry products labeled as "raised without antibiotics." USDA also gave Tyson the option of submitting a new label application with new documentation.

However, Tyson said in a statement that it is in discussions USDA officials to find a way to resolve the matter. The company said it had submitted modified labeling which it hoped would be approved soon. "The additional wording states no ingredients have been used that could create antibiotic resistance in humans," Tyson said. Tyson added that it expects no disruption in service to our customers.

"We do not believe ionophores are antibiotics," Tyson said, pointing out that ionophores are not included on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) list of animal drugs deemed as antibiotics. "Ionophores are recognized and approved by the federal government as a safe feed ingredient," Tyson said. "They're permitted in chicken feed as a preventive measure against coccidiosis, an intestinal illness, and are in a different class than antibiotics.

"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."