Smithfield Foods, owned by WH Group, launched an antibiotic-free line of fresh pork products under its Pure Farms brand. The Pure Farms pork product line features minimal processing and no antibiotics, steroids, hormones or artificial ingredients.
The full line of antibiotic-free pork products will be available in fresh pork cuts, ham cuts and packaged pork cuts such as breakfast sausage and bacon in both retail stores and food service beginning this month.
Smithfield also recently refined its definition of prevention as related to antibiotics use in farm animals, providing a practical explanation to consumers and customers intended to offer greater clarity. These efforts are driven by an internal antibiotics task force, which supports Smithfield’s commitment to industry-leading antibiotics initiatives.
Smithfield Foods brands
Existing Smithfield brands in the US include Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny and Berlinki.
“We’re proud to provide our customers and consumers with a broader range of products to meet a variety of needs and preferences, including antibiotic-free,” said Ken Sullivan, president and chief executive officer for Smithfield Foods, in a press release.
Competing antibiotic-free pork brand launches
This time last year, Tyson Fresh Meats introduced Open Prairie Natural Pork brand. That antibiotic-free pork brand was marketed as minimally processed with no artificial ingredients. The pigs used in the brand were never treated with antibiotics and were raised on farms that did not use gestation stalls.
