Atria's antibiotic-free meat

Antibiotic-free meat: Ensuring animal health and safety at Atria

 

In Finland, production animals receive very little medication by international comparison, and the occurrence of drug residues in food is extremely rare.

 

Antibiotics are not used for preventive treatment. Instead, diseased animals are treated with appropriate care, avoiding unnecessary medication. Drug dosages are determined by a veterinary officer who also monitors the pharmaceutical records and drug use at farms. Animals are not slaughtered until the withdrawal period has expired.

 

Good living conditions, appropriate feeding and careful hygiene, as well as systematic disease prevention, ensure good animal health in Finland.

 

Chickens do not need antibiotics

 

Atria’s chickens are a prime example of this. Atria leads the way in Finland: it is committed to ensuring that its chickens do not receive antibiotics in their lifetimes. Beginning in autumn 2017, this antibiotic-free meat commitment will be indicated by a label on consumer packaging.

 

It is critical that antibiotics are not used unnecessarily – this applies to animals and humans alike. The excessive use of antibiotics accelerates the generation of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

 

Animal well-being equals good animal health

 

Atria takes extremely good care of its chickens to ensure that they do not catch infections that require antibiotics. Moderate or non-existent use of antibiotics reduces the probability of the emergence and spread of superbugs.

 

Atria is actively working to minimize or completely abandon the use of antibiotics on pigs and cattle to ensure antibiotic-free meat across all its products.

 

Finnish antibiotic-free meat is safe

 

In many countries, antibiotics are routinely administered to production animals to accelerate growth and prevent disease. The meat produced in these countries has been found to contain high levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may spread to people from food products or directly from the animals. Finnish antibiotic-free meat offers a safer alternative, free from such risks.

 

The World Health Organisation considers resistance to antibiotics to be one of the most significant global health threats. The spreading of superbugs, such as hospital-acquired MRSA or ESBL, which cause urinary and stomach infections, is extending treatment periods in healthcare and increasing costs, as well as causing treatments to fail and people to lose their lives.

 

Trends from 2010 to 2021, Seventh ESVAC report

 

Source: Sales of veterinary antimicrobial agents in 30 European countries in 2021