Antibiotic Stewardship

We understand the importance of using antibiotics responsibly in all settings, including animal agriculture. We have not only invested in raising animals without antibiotics, we have also been stewards of alternative approaches to animal health and well-being to minimize the need for antibiotics. We never use medically important antibiotics for growth promotion, feed efficiency or weight gain. Protecting human health and the health of our animals is of the utmost importance, and we are proud of our ongoing stewardship efforts.

We focus our efforts the following ways:

Reducing the use of antibiotics — Reducing the need for antibiotics has been and continues to be important to us. We focus our efforts on keeping our animals healthy so that antibiotics aren’t needed. For example, we employ seven veterinarians at our Jennie-O Turkey Store subsidiary — more than any other turkey company in the industry — and partnered with a leading animal veterinary clinic to help define long-term health strategies for our company-owned sow farm. We also continue to research ways to use products such as prebiotics, probiotics and essential oils to maintain animal health and welfare for turkeys. Read more here in our white paper. In addition, veterinarians monitor and evaluate the health and welfare of all our animals, as well as our antibiotic use, on an ongoing basis.
Responsible use of antibiotics — We comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s industry guidance that eliminates the use of medically important antibiotics for growth promotion. While we continue to make reductions in antibiotic use, we believe the responsible use of antibiotics includes the appropriate treatment of sick animals. When antibiotics are needed to properly care for an animal, only approved medications and dosage levels are used under the direction of a veterinarian. In addition, Hormel Foods has a leading animal welfare auditing program; ensuring the responsible use of antibiotics is a key part of that program.
Producing raised-without-antibiotics products — Hormel Foods has invested in producing raised-without-antibiotics products. In fact, our purchase of Applegate is a significant commitment in this regard. Our Applegate^® product portfolio is produced entirely from animals raised without antibiotics. If antibiotics are given to an animal, that animal does not enter the Applegate supply chain. In addition, we offer several raised-without-antibiotics foodservice items, Columbus^® products and Jennie-O^® products.
Partnering with stakeholders — To further demonstrate our commitment to this important issue, in 2015 we formed an Antibiotic Working Group comprised of internal subject-matter experts, leading nongovernmental organizations – including the Pew Charitable Trusts and Farm Foundation – independent veterinarians and other stakeholders to discuss and continue to advance this important industry topic. We also review and explore research opportunities and will continue to participate in industry antibiotic initiatives. Additionally, we are working to support broader dialogue around the challenges of addressing antimicrobial resistance through membership in the Business Council of the United Nations as well as the National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education.

In 2018, Hormel Foods, along with other food companies, retailers, livestock producers, and trade and professional associations, announced a comprehensive framework to strengthen stewardship of antibiotic use in food animals. The framework was part of a two-year dialogue with stakeholders that was moderated by the Farm Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts to ensure that antibiotics are used judiciously throughout production to protect animal and public health.

The 15 core components of the antibiotic stewardship framework are based on the importance of veterinary guidance and partnership, disease prevention strategies and optimal treatment approaches, as well as effective record-keeping, and a culture of continuous improvement and commitment to antibiotic stewardship. The components address education, implementation and evaluation steps for phasing in stewardship programs. The framework’s guiding principles are intended to help ensure stewardship programs have a clear scientific basis, are transparent, minimize the risk of unintended consequences, encourage alternatives to antibiotics and focus on long-term sustainability.

Learn More

We are proud to share more about our efforts in our Antibiotic Stewardship Report

This special supplemental report provides additional details about our antibiotic stewardship program and metrics from some of the farms in our supply chain.

View Report

In addition to our ongoing stewardship efforts, we are committed to the following next steps:

We will strive to achieve a 10% year-over-year reduction in medically important antibiotic use at our company-owned turkey farms and company-owned sow farm, with the understanding that health challenges may arise that could result in the goal not being met during certain years.
We will include the use of medically important antibiotics, by class, in our antibiotic stewardship reports for our company-owned turkey farms and our company-owned sow farm. We also will include the use of medically important antibiotics, by class, for the remaining farms that are already included in our antibiotic stewardship reports.
We will strive to eliminate the routine use of medically important antibiotics at our Jennie-O Turkey Store farms in 2022, and on our company-owned sow farm by 2025.* We currently use one medically important antibiotic at our company-owned sow farm. We will launch a study in January 2022 with our veterinary partner to identify the changes needed to eliminate the routine use of this antibiotic (such as potential management changes and husbandry techniques). Subsequently, we will implement identified changes as long as they align with our high animal welfare standards.

We will report our progress on these commitments in our antibiotic stewardship reports and corporate responsibility reports, and on our corporate website.

Hormel Foods and WHO Guidelines on Use of Medically Important Antimicrobials in Food-Producing Animals

Hormel Foods has been a leader in the establishment of an antibiotics stewardship program in its supply chain. Our robust antibiotic stewardship commitments are comprehensive and meet or exceed standards established by governing authorities in the United States, including as directed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) standards.

The company reports on the progress of these efforts in its annual Antibiotics Stewardship Report. As part of this effort, we define areas where we can continue as a thought leader. Hormel Foods has worked with multiple organizations to improve stewardship practices across the food animal sector, including PEW Charitable Trusts, the United Nations Business Council, and the National Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education. Additionally, as we continue to look for opportunities to evolve, we have decided to develop a working group to assess the WHO Guidelines on Use of Medically Important Antimicrobials in Food-Producing Animals.

As it relates to the WHO Guidelines, Hormel Foods reinforces our commitment to antibiotic stewardship and our support of the essence of the WHO Guidelines:

The company already supports a number of World Health Organization Guidelines and it recently made significant commitments that correspond to WHO principles.
We agree with the WHO Guidelines that the use of medically important antibiotics should be reduced, including in food-producing animals, while acknowledging the need to account for any animalwelfare concerns.
We have also made commitments to strive to achieve a reduction in the use of medically important antimicrobials, as per WHO guidelines. These reduction goals are published on the Hormel Foods website, and progress is illustrated in an annual antibiotic stewardship report.
We already comply with the WHO Guidelines recommendation to eliminate use of medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion, based on the current guidance published by the FDA.
While Hormel Foods is aligned with several key points contained in the WHO Guidelines, there are a few notable areas where we follow a different path. These tend to be related to, topics where WHO has stated that a recommendation is a “conditional recommendation, with very low-quality evidence.”
In 2023-2024, we will convene a group of third-party experts to focus on those Guidelines that WHO has defined as “conditional recommendation[s], with very low-quality evidence.” This varied group of stakeholders will explore the feasibility and potential impacts of implementation, with a focus on animal welfare. The summation of their findings will be published in a report and made available on our website.

Raised-Without-Antibiotics Products

Hormel Foods is invested in producing raised-without-antibiotics products. For example, our Applegate^® product portfolio is produced entirely from animals raised without antibiotics. In addition, we offer several raised-without-antibiotics foodservice items, Columbus^® products and Jennie-O^® products.

*As defined in the “Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human Medicine: 6th Revision” by the World Health Organization. Routine use means antibiotic use for disease prevention purposes. For example, treating all animals in a flock or herd at a certain time as a regular practice (such as at weaning or before shipping) is by definition routine use even if administered to individual animals of that flock or herd by injection. In addition, antibiotics delivered through animal feed, water, injectable or any other delivery mechanism, to a group of animals that has not been diagnosed with a transmissible bacterial infection is also considered routine use.