An alliance of consumer, health, and environmental groups has released a new report showing how the nation's top 25 fast-food companies by sales stack up on their policies regarding antibiotic use in their meat.
The results are dismal: The report gave 20 of the 25 companies failing grades for not effectively responding to a "growing public health threat by publicly adopting policies restricting routine antibiotic use" in meat.
Of those that passed, only Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill received an A grade. Chick-fil-A received a B, and McDonald’s and Dunkin' Donuts received C's.
These chains beat out the likes of Starbucks, Olive Garden, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, who were among the many companies assigned big, fat F's in the report:
The "Chain Reaction" report and scorecard was assembled and released by the nonprofit groups Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Consumers Union, Food Animal Concerns Trust, Keep Antibiotics Working, and Center for Food Safety.
The report arrives amid growing concern about antibiotic-resistant superbugs, a problem partially fueled by the rampant use of antibiotics in cows, chickens, and other farm animals raised for food. Such concern has sparked the launch of the Obama administration's five-year plan to combat antibiotic resistance, as well as the Food and Drug Administration's new guidelines aiming to restrict antibiotic use in farm-animal products, like meat and poultry, that make it to our dinner plates.
After surveying each of the top 25 restaurant chains through in-person, email, and traditional mail surveys — as well as public statements — the groups assigned grades to each company. They plan to perform this survey annually to measure improvements.
The five chains that passed have demonstrated that they are limiting the use of medically necessary antibiotics or that they prohibit antibiotic use altogether in the meat-production process, according to the report.
The 20 that received failing grades, which represent the majority of the best-selling food chains in the US, haven't showed that they are responding to this issue, the report said.
"Consumers should be as concerned as the foremost infectious disease doctors are — which is very concerned,” David Wallinga, a senior health officer at the environmental nonprofit the National Resources Defense Council, who contributed to the report, told Time.
Antibiotic-resistant superbugs have become one of the world's most pressing public-health concerns. An estimated 2 million people become infected with drug-resistant bacteria in the US each year. Of those, at least 23,000 die.
Most farm animals on the planet get antibiotics to fatten them up and protect them from illness. About 80% of the antibiotics sold in the US every year are for farm animals. Overuse of antibiotics on farms isn't the only issue, but it's a huge contributor to the growing threat of a post-antibiotic era, when even minor infections will not be easily treatable with the drugs we have today.
Tech Insider contacted each of the brands in the report for their reactions. Keep scrolling to read the responses we've received so far, each brand's grade from the report, and which companies haven't gotten back to us.
Panera Bread — "A"
Sara Burnett, director of wellness and food policy at Panera Bread:
More than a decade ago we started serving chicken raised without antibiotics — ahead of the industry. We're glad to see that others have followed and proud to have extended our commitment to all of the chicken, ham, bacon, sausage and roasted turkey on our salads and sandwiches.
Chipotle — "A"
Chris Arnold, spokesman for Chipotle:
We have served meat from animals raised without antibiotics for many years and do more of that than any other restaurant company, so naturally we are pleased to enjoy the highest available grade in this study. While others have made some small steps in a similar direction, the study shows there is more work do be done on this issue within the restaurant industry, and we hope others will follow our lead.
Chick-fil-A — "B"
Rob Dugas, vice president, supply chain, at Chick-fil-A:
Chick-fil-A was the first in the quick service restaurant industry to announce a commitment to “No Antibiotics Ever” in its chicken supply back in 2014. This commitment is the most restrictive in the industry, with no antibiotics (including ionophores) to be administered at all within the chicken’s lifespan.
Because chicken makes up 99% of our menu, Chick-fil-A is prioritizing completely eliminating any antibiotic use in the poultry supply first. Because of this stringent requirement and our desire to have third-party verification of our supplier’s processes, the switch will take some time.
We are happy to report that —in addition to continuing to serve chicken that has always been 100% pure breast meat with no fillers, additives, hormones or steroids -- we have converted more than 20% of our poultry supply to our “No Antibiotics Ever” standard and are on track to be fully transitioned by 2019. We also are committed to transparency throughout the process and are posting regular updates on our web site (http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Antibiotic-free), with another update scheduled for this fall.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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