Most restaurant chains get failing grades on antibiotic use in new report
Fast-food giants Burger King, Domino's and Wendy's got failing grades in a consumer report card released Tuesday that ranks the nation's largest food chains in their effort to eliminate the use of antibiotics in meat.
In contrast, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread got high marks, according to the scorecard by a coalition of environmental and consumer advocacy groups.
The scorecard comes as fast-food chains increasingly face demands to eliminate antibiotics in meat. Research shows the use of human antibiotics to treat animals raised for food has contributed to the rise of "superbug" bacteria that resists powerful medicine and can lead to dangerous epidemics.
"The prevalence of antibiotic misuse and overuse in U.S. meat production reflects a broader tendency of poor farm management and animal welfare practices in industrial U.S.," said the coalition report titled "Chain Reaction: How Top Restaurants Rate on Reducing Antibiotics to their Meat Supply."
Major U.S. restaurant chains "can make an important contribution to tackling antibiotic resistance by working with their meat and poultry suppliers to reduce routine use of antibiotics," the report says.
Panera, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's have all adopted policies that either limit the use of medically important antibiotics or prohibit any antibiotic use in the production of the meat they serve.
The report notes that Panera and Chipotle, which were given A grades, are the only chains that publicly affirm that the majority of their meat and poultry offered is produced without routine use of antibiotics.
The scorecard was put together by Friends of the Earth, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Consumers Union, the Food Animal Concerns Trust, Keep Antibiotics Working and the Center for Food Safety.
Chick-fil-A (B grade) and McDonald's (C grade) have announced plans to limit antibiotic use in their chicken with implementation timelines, while Dunkin' Donuts (C grade) has a policy covering all meats but has no reported timeline for implementation.
The report gives an F grade to 20 of the top 25 restaurant chains — including Burger King, Wendy's and KFC — because they have no disclosed policy on antibiotics use or have policies that the group deemed allow for the routine use of antibiotics in the meats they serve.
The report also gave failing grades to chains such as Starbucks and Subway despite both companies publicly stating they would limit the use of antibiotics in their meats.
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Subway announced last month it plans to switch to chicken without human antibiotics by 2016, and it was looking to find antibiotic-free options for other meats served at the 44,000-unit chain.
The coalition said it gave Subway partial credit for its new policy because its website indicates only support for the "elimination of subtherapeutic use of antibiotics," and it is unclear whether the company would end all routine antibiotic use in its supply chains. The coalition report says Subway's public statements have created "uncertainty" about its level of commitment. The sandwich chain, like many of the restaurants ranked, did not respond to the coalition's survey
Starbucks was dinged with an F grade even though it announced in 2009 a buying preference in North America from suppliers who use industry best practices for animal husbandry and processing for dairy, egg and meat production. Last year, the Seattle-based company broadened its animal welfare policy to promote supporting responsible use of antibiotics to support animal health.
"Even though we purchase a limited amount of meat, we are working with our suppliers to address concerns about antibiotic use and are looking to collaborate with others across our industry ... to promote best practices on this issue," Starbucks said in a statement.
This year, McDonald's, the nation's second-largest poultry purchaser, announced it would stop serving chicken raised with antibiotics in its American restaurants.
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The coalition says it gave McDonald's only a C grade because the chain's routine use of antibiotics is still allowed for "disease prevention" in the production of its pork and beef, and the company does not publicly report on the percentage of poultry served that is raised without routine antibiotics.
As the nation's top purchaser of beef and pork, McDonald's should be doing more to eliminate the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry, said Sriram Madhusoodanan, director of the Value (the) Meal campaign at Corporate Accountability International.
"If the corporation were serious about becoming a 'modern, progressive burger company,'" said Madhusoodanan, referring to the mantra of McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook, "it would immediately implement a strong, accountable and transparent antibiotics policy across its supply chain."
