Many leading U.S. restaurant chains are falling short in adopting policies to curb antibiotic use in their meat, raising concerns about antibiotic resistance.
Ed Silverman reports for STAT.
In short:
- An analysis of 20 major restaurant chains found that Olive Garden, Dairy Queen, Arby’s, Little Caesars and Sonic lack public policies for responsible antibiotic use in their meat supplies.
- While 15 chains have policies for chicken suppliers, most lack policies for beef, pork and turkey.
- Only Chipotle and KFC received top marks for having comprehensive antibiotic policies across all meats.
Why this matters:
Overuse of antibiotics in livestock fuels antibiotic resistance, making infections harder to treat in humans. Consumers' reliance on restaurant meals means weak policies in meat sourcing can exacerbate public health risks.
