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According to a new report released by six consumer groups, only two of the 25 American hamburger chains surveyed earned the highest score for serving high beef without the use of routine antibiotics. Another chain of restaurants got a D-less. The other 22 failed.
Earning points were Shake Shack and Burger Fi. Wendy has the D-less. Big hitters like McDonald's and Burger King have F.
The results were surprising, said Matt Wellington, director of the American PIRG Education Fund's Antibiotic Program and lead author of the "Chain Reaction IV: Burger Edition" report, released on Wednesday.
In a previous report, the groups found that restaurants were feeding more and more sources that did not routinely use antibiotics, he said. "The beef industry has a long way to go," he said.
Experts know that the growth and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a health crisis around the world. Every year, at least 23,000 Americans die from resistant infections and according to Wellington, this estimate is probably conservative.
If fast food restaurants insist that meat producers use antibiotics responsibly, it would help a lot, experts say.
Details of the survey
This year's report focuses on the use of antibiotics in beef sold in the 25 largest hamburger chains in the United States. The 25 were selected based on sales in 2017. To protect public health, said Wellington and others, restaurants should be committed to getting beef from producers who use antibiotics in cattle only under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian and only in the treatment of cows with a disease. or to control a verified outbreak.
For the survey, restaurants were asked to describe their policy on obtaining beef. They were also asked about the degree of transparency of the policy and the fact that their clients can access the policy publicly, for example on the restaurant's website.
"These are the questions we've ranked restaurants on," says Wellington. "They had to ban the systematic use of antibiotics in their supply chain" to get positive grades.
Survey responses were then compared to publicly available information; If the answers did not match, the researchers took public information as an answer, says Wellington.
He said only seven of the 25 restaurant chains responded to the survey. They therefore found the information publicly available to non-respondents and ranked it according to this information.
More about F
In addition to McDonald's and Burger King, these burgers have also earned an F:
Wendy's gets 15% of her beef from growers who have reduced by 20% the use of tylosin, an antibiotic. Researchers call this step "modest".
In addition to the US PIRG Education Fund, the Center for Food Safety, Consumer Reports, the Trust Fund for Animal Concerns, Friends of the Earth and the Natural Resources Advocacy Council are participating in the survey.
Industry Response
WebMD has contacted Shake Shack, McDonald's and Five Guys for feedback.
By the deadline, McDonald's had responded. Lauren Altmin, a spokesperson for McDonald's, said such a policy was going on for beef. "Preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics for future generations is of paramount importance to McDonald's." she says. "In 2016, McDonald's fully implemented its commitment to no longer serve chicken treated with antibiotics important for human medicine in its US restaurants, which led to the implementation in 2018 of the same year." A policy of antibiotic use for broiler chicken in markets worldwide McDonald's is finalizing a global antibiotic policy in the field of beef, whose deployment is expected to begin before the end of 2018. "
The FDA has put in place by the end of 2016 new guidelines on the use of antibiotics aimed at reducing by 20% the "inappropriate" use of antibiotics in patients admitted to the clinic. hospital and half in outpatients. The report notes, however, that "this still allows medically important antibiotics to be routinely used in animal feed or water to prevent disease – even in healthy animals – for as long as possible. that a veterinarian approves this use. "
The guidelines also allow veterinarians to write orders so that all animals on a farm can receive antibiotics up to 6 months, thus blurring the distinction between disease prevention and growth promotion.
Moving forward
In the report, the authors point out, among other things, that policymakers need to set national targets for reducing the use of antibiotics in animals intended for food.
"These reforms are vital for preserving essential medicines for the future health of animals and humans," the report concludes.
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