Sri Lankan poultry producer New Anthoney’s Farms has entered into a partnership with the University of Peradeniya to independently verify its antibiotic-free chicken production. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the University’s Food Safety and Quality Assurance Laboratory (FSQAL) will conduct laboratory testing to confirm the absence of antibiotic residues in the company’s poultry products.
The FSQAL laboratory is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, the international standard for testing and calibration laboratories. According to the agreement, the laboratory will perform independent analyses of product samples, providing third-party verification of the company’s production claims.
The initiative comes amid growing global efforts to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as one of the most significant threats to public health. The inappropriate use of antibiotics in both human medicine and animal agriculture contributes to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. According to a landmark study published in The Lancet, antimicrobial resistance was directly responsible for an estimated 1.27 million deaths worldwide in 2019 and was associated with nearly 5 million deaths.
The issue is also receiving increasing attention in Sri Lanka. Research conducted in commercial poultry farms in the Kurunegala district found widespread antimicrobial use and identified high levels of resistance to several commonly used antibiotic classes, including tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening antimicrobial stewardship and biosecurity measures throughout the poultry sector.
New Anthoney’s states that its production system does not rely on antibiotics, instead emphasizing biosecurity, flock management and preventive health practices. The collaboration with the University of Peradeniya is intended to provide independent verification of these claims through regular laboratory testing.
The company also describes itself as Sri Lanka’s only producer of fully antibiotic-free chicken. However, this claim could not be independently verified through publicly available certification schemes or industry-wide assessments and should therefore be regarded as a company statement rather than an independently established fact.
Similarly, the company’s proposal to introduce a national “No Antibiotics Ever” standard reflects its own policy position and has not been adopted as a regulatory requirement in Sri Lanka.
The partnership nevertheless reflects a broader trend within the poultry industry toward reducing antibiotic use and increasing transparency through independent verification, in line with international efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance while maintaining animal health and food safety.
