Butterball Foodservice has joined the ranks of companies offering poultry products raised with no antibiotics ever (NAE). Butterball’s new line, Farm to Family, features NAE, all-natural turkey raised on family-owned farms and fed an all-vegetarian diet.

The Farm to Family line consists of eight products: two turkey burgers (white turkey burger and original turkey burger), three varieties of turkey breast (oil browned turkey breast, oven roasted turkey breast and smoked turkey breast) two ready-to-cook roasts (ready-to-cook young turkey breast and cook-in-bag, skin-on turkey breast roast) and all-natural coarse-ground turkey.

“We added no-antibiotics-ever turkey to the Butterball portfolio because we know that many consumers and operators would rather eat and serve proteins raised without antibiotics,” said Richie Jenkins, senior director of marketing for Butterball Foodservice. “Everyone has different opinions about food, and we believe in giving our customers choices. The breadth of the Farm to Family line enables chefs to explore the culinary versatility of these new offerings.”

 
Sixty-six per cent of consumers prefer to eat proteins raised without antibiotics, according to market research firm Technomic, and 43 percent are willing to pay more for it. In February, Tyson Foods announced that its entire line of retail chicken products will be sourced from birds raised with no antibiotics ever, making Tyson a leading provider of chickens raised with no antibiotics.