News

KFC commits to chicken without human antibiotics

April 7, 2017

By the end of 2018, KFC said all birds used in its US restaurants will come from farms where hens are raised without the use of antibiotics important to human medicine. The chain, which has been the bane of some medical and animal rights groups for its resistance to this move, said its announcement today marks the first time a major national U.S. QSR chain has committed to using hens raised this way for bone-in chicken. 

"Making this change was complex and took a lot of planning," said KFC U.S. President and Chief Concept Officer Kevin Hochman, in a news release. "It required close collaboration with more than 2,000 farms, most of them family-owned and managed, in more than a dozen U.S. states where they raise our chickens." 

The brand's Chief Food Innovation Officer Vijay Sukumar echoed those sentiments and underlined that because the chain used chicken-on-the-bone products, the feat was far more difficult to achieve than for chains which do not serve bone-in chicken on their menus. 

"To extend our commitment beyond our boneless menu items to all of our chicken required detailed and thoughtful planning over the past year, including utilizing the USDA's Process Verified program to ensure our suppliers can meet our requirements," Sukumar said in a news release. "We're proud to make a commitment this expansive and believe this change will aid in shifting the rest of the industry."      

The National Resources Defense Council supports KFC's decision. 

"KFC's new policy will be a game-changer for the fast food industry and public health," NRDC Food Policy Advocate Lena Brook said in a news release. "The market is responding to consumer demand for better meat. This commitment from the nation's most iconic fast food chicken chain will have a major impact on the way the birds are raised in the U.S. and in the fight against the growing epidemic of drug-resistant infections."

The longtime chicken chain has also recently committed to ridding all its "core products" of artificial colors and flavors by the end of 2018. Although most of its menu is now free of food dyes, it will be completely rid of them by this year's end, excluding beverages and third-party products, according to the release.

The announcement is the latest move in KFC's U.S. brand "turnaround," which it labels the "re-colonelization" of KFC. That includes initiatives to simplify operations, retrain workers, build new ads around the idea of the chain's original founder, Colonel Harland Sanders, remodel more than 3,000 stores. 

"This is another major milestone in our Re-Colonelization efforts," said Hochman. "We know our customers expect the very best fried chicken at a great value. I am especially proud that we are able to make this change without passing the cost along to our guests."