Ricky's Group of Family-Style Restaurants is the first family restaurant chain in Canada to serve breakfast meats raised without antibiotics or added hormones

Ricky’s Group of Family-Style Restaurants announced that on Thursday, October 27 it will be the first full-service Canadian-owned family restaurant chain to begin serving pork entrées on its breakfast menu that have been Raised Without Any Antibiotics or Added Hormones (RWA). Image: CNW Group/Ricky's Restaurants

VANCOUVER -  The Ricky's Group of Family-Style Restaurants, which includes approximately 90 Ricky's All Day Grills, Ricky's Café and Ricky's Country Restaurants, announced that on Thursday, October 27 it will be the first full-service Canadian-owned family restaurant chain to begin serving pork entrées on its breakfast menu that have been Raised Without Any Antibiotics or Added Hormones (RWA).

Also read, Pizza Nova grows Raised Without Antibiotics roster with Chicken Wings.

Health experts believe that having fewer antibiotics in food sources reduce the amount of drug resistant bacteria – often referred to as superbugs – in the human population, and recommend eating meats raised without the use of antibiotics for these reasons.

At Ricky's, these sources of healthy proteins for people will now only come from animals that are raised without the use of any antibiotics or added hormones ever, and are Canadian farm-raised and vegetable grain-fed. Ricky's has been working carefully for over a year to make this change.

The RWA menu items include maple bacon, breakfast sausage, chorizo sausage, Bavarian sausage, farmer's sausage, and Black Forest ham. In general, there are no discernable taste differences for the new RWA items, though the sausage is more flavourful. Ricky's menu will include an RWA symbol by each breakfast entrée as a part of the chain's "better for you" breakfast program that puts guests first.

"We at Ricky's are thrilled to be the first breakfast restaurant chain in Canada to offer breakfast meats raised without antibiotics," said Ricky's Senior Vice President Stacey Hansson. "We continue to be committed to serving the best quality breakfast, which is now also simply better for our guests. We strongly agree with and support the 'don't take unnecessary antibiotics' message, telling the public that we don't need antibiotics every time we are not feeling well. And we definitely don't need them in our food. Antibiotics are for the sick, not the hungry."  Ricky's is now working with its beef and chicken suppliers to make similar changes.

Ricky's "better for you" initiative also includes a commitment to sustainability. The chain offers Ocean Wise certified seafood products, helping to ensure the food supply for future generations. The chain is also introducing a new Ricky's signature premium blend of coffee that is Rainforest Alliance certified, yet another example of its commitment to sustainability.

Source Ricky's Restaurants