Zero Antibiotics chicken are a type of broiler chicken grown without any antibiotics. Growing them uses the No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) technology, which is the highest form of Antibiotics Stewardship in the poultry industry.

Producing Zero Antibiotics chicken means that chicken are more carefully grown. It does NOT follow the common practice of using antibiotics to boost growth and prevent illnesses among chicken – a practice which can be risky to humans in the long run. Thus, Zero Antibiotics chicken are indeed “laki sa alaga, hindi sa gamot.”

Using antibiotics among chicken can be harmful to human health in the long run, because that speeds up the evolution of certain bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics – a condition called antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) refers to bacteria’s immunity to antibiotics. This happens when bacteria that had been exposed to antibiotics change and become more powerful than the antibiotics that are supposed to kill them. Therefore, if one becomes infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria (also known as “superbugs”), that person can no longer be cured.

Becoming vulnerable to superbugs can be avoided if we use antibiotics only when needed – that is, when we have a bacterial infection and the antibiotics are responsibly prescribed by a doctor. Indeed, the misuse and abuse of antibiotics eventually end up in developing AMR; antibiotic stewardship is key.

“Antibiotic stewardship” is a term used by the medical/scientific community to refer to the responsible use of antibiotics in treating bacterial diseases. This concept warns that if we use antibiotics when not needed, we may not use them when needed.

Antibiotic Stewardship is also the term used by BAVI to identify its efforts in drastically reducing antibiotic use in the past several years. BAVI is currently on par with the world’s best poultry integrators when it comes to antibiotic stewardship.

Zero Antibiotics chicken are often considered the healthiest because the absence of antibiotics throughout their lifetime means that they had never been sick and that they were grown with utmost care.

BAVI’s Zero Antibiotics chicken are grown following the Five Freedoms developed by the Farm Animal Welfare Council: (1) freedom from hunger and thirst, (2) freedom from discomfort, (3) freedom from pain, injury, or disease, (4) freedom to express normal behavior, and (5) freedom from fear and distress.

BAVI achieves all these by providing chicken with a clean and comfortable environment, a well-balanced vegetarian diet, and immediate access to healthcare.

Yes. BAVI started studying Zero Antibiotics (No Antibiotics Ever) chicken production in 2012, and in 2017 began implementing the program. In 2019, the company completely removed all Critically Important Antimicrobials (CIA) for humans, which was a big step in the organization’s antibiotic stewardship program.