Louisville-based Papa John’s announced this week that it plans to source poultry that is raised without antibiotics and is fed a 100-percent vegetarian diet by 2016. “By serving high-quality chicken produced without added human or animal antibiotics, we’re just taking the next step on our journey to get ‘better,'” said John Schnatter, founder and CEO of Papa John’s. The company said it has secured contracts with its suppliers to ensure that they are on track to begin servicing antibiotic-free chicken on schedule.
At this point, there is no timeline at the company regarding serving antibiotic-free beef and pork. “There are several factors that impact our ability to convert to raised-without antibiotics pork and beef in the short-term. We are in discussions, but we do not have a clear timeline at this time,” said Sean Muldoon, Papa John’s senior vice president, R&D, QA, and supply chain.
Several national food chains have made the same decision. McDonald’s announced in March that it is doing away with chicken treated with human antibiotics. In October, Subway announced plans to remove antibiotics in all of its meat supply. Subway will begin serving antibiotic-free chicken and turkey in 2016 and the whole menu will be without antibiotics by 2025.
