About a quarter of the largest restaurant chains in the US have failed to implement meaningful policies to curb the overuse of antibiotics in their meat offerings, according to a new report.
The report was published at the end of November by the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), which promotes the safe and humane production of meat products. In it, the group said food companies play a crucial role in combating the spread of deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
“The spread of superbugs makes common medical procedures such as dialysis, surgery, cesarean sections, chemotherapy and organ transplants much more dangerous,” the nonprofit said in the report. “The biggest cause of the spread of these deadly germs is the overuse of antibiotics, both in human medicine and in food animal production.”
The analysis evaluated policies and practices in the beef, pork, turkey and chicken supply chains. While 15 chains have implemented antibiotic policies for chicken, only two, Chipotle (CMG) and KFC (YUM), earned the highest marks for applying restrictions to all types of meat they serve.
Olive Garden (DRI), Dairy Queen (BRK.A), Arby’s, Little Caesars and Sonic all received failing grades for not having government policies in place to ensure their suppliers adhered to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines ( FDA) on antibiotic resistance.
FACT’s superbug scorecard for 20 major US restaurant chains
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B: Wendy’s (WEN), Chic Fil A
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C: Taco Bell, Popeye’s (QSR), Subway, McDonald’s (MCD), Starbucks (SBUX)
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D: Panera, Domino’s (DPZ), Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut
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F: Olive Garden, Dairy Queen, Arby’s, Little Caesars, Sonic
The report comes amid growing alarm over antibiotic resistance, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls “one of the world’s most pressing public health problems.” In 2019, antibiotic resistance was linked to 1.27 million deaths worldwide, including more than 35,000 in the US, where 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur annually. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria evolve to resist existing medications, making infections more difficult to treat and often fatal.
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