In the fast-food industry, where you find the beef, you may very well find antibiotics.
A new report assigned “failing grades” to 22 of the 25 largest burger chains in the U.S. over their policies regarding antibiotics use in the production of the beef they serve. The report was co-authored by researchers from a range of public-interest organizations including U.S. PIRG, Consumer Reports and the Natural Resources Defense Council, among others.
Only two companies analyzed — Shake Shack SHAK, +0.36% and BurgerFi — received “A” grades. Both companies only serve beef raised without antibiotics. Only Shake Shack and Wendy’s made third-party independent auditing reports public regarding antibiotics use among their producers.
“The results from this morning’s fourth annual 2018 Chain Reaction Report came as no surprise to us,” BurgerFi CEO Corey Winograd said in an email to MarketWatch. “We are known for delivering the all-natural burger experience and we will continue with a commitment to quality food that ensures no steroids, antibiotics, growth hormones, chemicals or additives are ever used.”
Jeffrey Amoscato, Shake Shack vice president of supply chain and menu innovation, said the company is “thrilled to be recognized for our efforts, noting that Shake Shack only serves beef, chicken and pork produced without the use of added hormones and antibiotics.”
Wendy’s WEN, -1.49% received a “D-” because it began purchasing 15% of its beef this year from producers who have reduced their use of the antibiotic tylosin. (MarketWatch reached out to the other 24 companies for comment, but did not receive immediate comments.)
The following burger chains, however, received failing grades:
McDonald’s MCD, +1.65% Burger King QSR, -1.54% Sonic SONC, -0.12% Jack in the Box JACK, -0.93% White Castle Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Five Guys Whataburger In-N-Out Burger Steak ‘N’ Shake Checkers and Rally’s Krystal Smashburger JFC, +1.73% Freddy’s Steakburgers The Habit HABT, -1.59% Fuddruckers LUB, +3.09% A&W Jack’s Farmer BoysResearchers graded the companies based on whether or not they had a policy pertaining to antibiotics in beef, how the policy was implemented and how transparent they were regarding the use of antibiotics in the meat they served. Most of these companies received failing grades in large part because they did not complete a survey sent by the researchers and did not have an antibiotics policy listed on their website.
The North American Meat Institute, an industry trade association based in Washington, D.C., said the report’s authors “seem to misunderstand or ignore basic facts.” The organization argued that a 2017 policy ushered in by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which banned the use of antibiotics to get livestock to grow larger with less food, made restaurants’ antibiotic policies redundant.
“Antibiotics remain one of many tools used to ensure animal health,” Tiffany Lee, director of science and regulatory affairs at the North American Meat Institute, said. “Livestock producers work with their herd veterinarians to ensure that antibiotics are used judiciously. Sometimes, this means using antibiotics for preventative purposes, but those decisions are made by health professionals and may reduce the amount of antibiotics that would be used if an entire herd got sick.”
Some of the companies have publicly said they plan to make improvements where antibiotics are concerned. A spokesperson for McDonald’s told MarketWatch said that the company no longer serves chicken with medically-important antibiotics and is in the process of finalizing a similar policy for beef, which is expected to roll out before the end of 2018. “Preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics for future generations is highly important to McDonald’s,” the spokesperson said.
Read more: Your kid’s Happy Meal likely isn’t a healthy meal
Similarly, In-N-Out said in 2016 that it intends to source beef raised without medically-important antibiotics, but the researchers said it “has yet to follow through with a time-bound commitment or provide any updates on its progress.”
The report’s findings show the stark contrast between the fast food industry’s approaches to antibiotics in beef versus antibiotics in poultry. More than half of the 25 largest fast-food and fast-casual restaurant chains have policies in place designed to eliminate or limit antibiotic use in the production of the meat and poultry they serve overall, the researchers found. On that scorecard, only eight chains received a failing grade, an improvement from 11 companies last year.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly common, and research has linked their prevalence to the use of antibiotics in livestock. While antibiotic use is necessary in raising livestock to prevent the animals from contracting disease, improper practices can foster resistance to the medicine and make it more likely that humans will die from food-borne illnesses.
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