March 22 (Reuters) - Chick-fil-A announced it is

allowing certain antibiotics in its chicken, overturning a

commitment it made in 2014.

The company said in a recent statement posted on its website

that the change will take effect in spring 2024, and is intended

"to maintain supply of the high-quality chicken you expect from

us."

The statement, which was also sent as a notification to the

chain's app users, said the antibiotics that will be allowed are

not important to human health, and are only administered "if the

animal and those around it were to become sick."

The company in a statement to Reuters said the policy change

was due to challenges it foresees finding chicken supplies that

"meets our rigid standards."

The move follows similar rollbacks from other companies.

Tyson Foods ( TSN ), a major supplier of chicken, announced

last summer it was reintroducing certain antibiotics to its

chicken supply chain, after having gone antibiotic-free in 2017.

Panera Bread, which like Chick-fil-A was an early adopter of

antibiotic-free commitments, also recently changed its animal

welfare policies to allow the use of antibiotics in pork and

turkey products, among other shifts, Reuters revealed earlier

this month. Internal documents from Panera said its previous

no-antibiotics policy limited its supply chain options to 5% of

pork available on the market.

(

Reporting by Waylon Cunningham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)