Village Connect
Being the pioneer of Zero Antibiotics Chicken in the Philippines, Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. (BAVI) has shared in an international conference how raising antibiotics-free chicken can help save millions of human lives.
Senior Vice President for Animal Health and Feed Mill Operations Dr. Erasmus Paderes spoke at the 5th International Conference on Responsible Use of Antibiotics in Animals last June 9.
The Netherlands-based virtual event gathered hundreds of veterinarians and animal nutritionists all over the world.
According to Dr. Paderes, producing Zero Antibiotics Chicken is BAVI’s way of helping to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which would kill 10 million people in 2050 if no action is done now.
“With brands such as Chooks-to-Go and Uling Roasters, BAVI offers Filipinos a healthier way of enjoying their favorite roasted chicken, while helping the world fight the menace of AMR.” Said Dr. Paderes.
“AMR happens to bacteria when antibiotics are misused and abused, such as when antibiotics are indiscriminately used to speed up chicken growth,” said Dr. Paderes. “When bacteria are already resistant to antibiotics, people are left vulnerable to fatal infections.”
In 2017, BAVI started to implement its Zero Antibiotics (or No Antibiotics Ever) Chicken Program, and in 2020 fully implemented it nationwide.
Dr. Paderes said his team initially faced difficulties in executing the program. One such challenge was the typical differences between veterinarians and animal nutritionists, who are traditionally grouped in different units. At BAVI, this was resolved by uniting them under one leadership.
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Today BAVI is the largest rotisserie chicken company in the Philippines, with over 1,700 stores across the country. It is also urging other poultry companies to adopt the no-antibiotics-ever route of producing chicken.
“With brands such as Chooks-to-Go and Uling Roasters,” said Dr. Paderes, “BAVI offers Filipinos a healthier way of enjoying their favorite roasted chicken, while helping the world fight the menace of AMR.”
