NSF International, a global accreditation organisation, has accredited Betagro Group's meat products as the world's first certified as Raised Without Antibiotics (RWA).
Peter Bracher, managing director of NSF International Asia-Pacific Co, said the Thai company has been working on raising meat and livestock products without using antibiotics for several years and its S-Pure branded pork, chicken and eggs comply with the conditions of NFS's RWA scheme.
"This is the world's first production line that has been certified by the NSF for this category," Mr Bracher said. "This certificate will help customers make informed choices about the foods they eat."
He said recent studies by NFS have shown that consumers worldwide are increasingly looking for products that have been raised without antibiotics.
Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, deputy director-general of the Livestock Development Department, said the department has a policy to promote antibiotic-free livestock production in order to provide more choices for consumers to buy healthy and antibiotic-free meat products.
"This is relevant to the five-year national strategic plan that seeks to lower the use of antibiotics in animal production by 30% when the plan ends in 2023," he said.
Mr Somchuan said Betagro Group is a participant in the department's project and has been certified as antibiotic-free for the entire production process and across the product line.
Betagro is one of Thailand's leading agro-industry groups, covering animal feed, livestock, animal health products and quality food products.
Sales revenue from domestic and export markets is forecast at 100 billion baht this year.
Vasit Taepaisitphongse, chief executive and president of Betagro Group, said the group has been performing in full compliance with antibiotic-free production practices for more than 10 years.
Betagro says S-Pure products such as pork, chicken and eggs are produced using the meticulous S-Pure process, starting from the selection of best breeds; natural means of animal husbandry; closed-system animal housing; protein feed made from cereals; no use of antibiotics, hormones and growth stimulants; care from veterinarians; and reliable meat processing.
The group slaughters about 6,000 pigs and 500,000 chickens a day and gathers 4 million eggs daily. All the products are sold under the Betagro and S-Pure brands.
This year, Betagro has plans to invest about 10 billion baht in various projects.