The popular fast food chain Chick-fil-A has said that beginning spring 2024, it is dropping its "No Antibiotics Ever," requirement regarding the chicken it sources for its offerings and is switching to "No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine."

"NAE means no antibiotics of any kind were used in raising the animal. NAIHM restricts the use of those antibiotics that are important to human medicine and commonly used to treat people, and allows use of animal antibiotics only if the animal and those around it were to become sick," the company explained.

"As we looked to the future, the availability of high-quality chicken that meets our rigid standards became a concern," a Chick-fil-A spokesperson noted in a statement, according to reports. "This change enables us to not only ensure we can continue to serve high-quality chicken, but also chicken that still meets the expectations our customers count on us to deliver."

In 2014, Chick-fil-A announced its goal to only serve chicken raised without antibiotics and has indicated that it achieved that objective in 2019.

The company's "Animal Wellbeing Standards" stipulate that chickens should be "hatched, raised and harvested domestically in the US" and "raised with proper nutrition." The standards state that there should be "climate-controlled barns, where chickens are cage-free and free to roam."

"Chick-fil-A® restaurants in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico will transition to chicken raised with No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM) starting in the spring of 2024. NAIHM allows for the use of chicken antibiotics if the animal and those around it were to become sick. If the animal does become ill, it will be treated with antibiotics not intended for humans. In accordance with FDA requirements, all antibiotics must be cleared from the chicken's system before it is considered available for the chicken supply," Chick-fil-A says on its website.

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