Pizza chain Papa John's has pledged that it will begin using chicken in its products that have been raised without human and animal antibiotics, by summer 2016.
The company said it would also use chicken that have been fed a 100% vegetarian diet.
Papa John's has secured contracts with its suppliers, to ensure that it is in line with its commitments to complete the process on schedule.
Papa John's founder and CEO John Schnatter said: "This antibiotics initiative embodies everything our brand stands for. I started this company over 31 years ago on a foundation of quality and a commitment to my customers to deliver on a promise of 'Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.' By serving high-quality chicken products without added human or animal antibiotics, we're just taking the next step on our journey to always get 'Better.'"
Papa John's earns the distinction of the first national pizza chain to promise the removal of antibiotics from its grilled chicken pizza toppings and chicken poppers.
The company commits that by next summer "NO antibiotics in our chicken toppings and poppers", will add to the list of its "'NO ingredients, which include NO trans-fats, NO MSG, NO fillers in core meat toppings, NO BHA, NO BHT, and NO partially hydrogenated oils".
Recently, several food chains have declared their commitments to use cage-free, antibiotics-free birds. Earlier this year, McDonald's announced plans to source chicken raised without antibiotics to serve in its restaurants.
McDonalds' US restaurants will also serve milk jugs of low-fat white milk and fat-free chocolate milk from cows that are not treated with rbST, an artificial growth hormone.
In October, Subway announced that it would serve poultry products made from turkey and chicken raised without antibiotics. The move came after several consumer groups came down heavily on the company for its lack of transparency in providing specific details.
Image: Papa John's Buffalo Chicken Pizza, one of many menu items that features chicken toppings. Photo: Courtesy of Business Wire.
