McDonald's Corp. has announced it plans to curb the use of chickens that have been treated with antibiotics deemed important to human health and medicine over the next two years in U.S. restaurants.
Chickens that are treated with antibiotics are not used for humans or are considered important to human health, such as ionophores, will still be used.
The initiative is the latest in a series of efforts McDonald's has taken to reduce the use of antibiotics in its poultry supply, according to Marion Gross, senior vice president of McDonald's North America Supply Chain.
"McDonald's believes that any animals that become ill deserve appropriate veterinary care and our suppliers will continue to treat poultry with prescribed antibiotics, and then they will no longer be included in our food supply," said Ms. Gross.
The bold move by the fast food giant may help influence a new wave of food-industry initiatives to address public health concerns surrounding the threat posed by drug-resistant bacteria, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Between the overprescribing of antibiotics and there not being enough pharmaceutical companies investing in developing new antibiotics, drug resistance is a rapidly growing global health problem.
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