Why is McDonald’s reducing the use of antibiotics?

The global McDonald’s restaurant chain will begin to reduce the use of antibiotics in its chicken products.

The focus will be on eliminating antibiotics that can harm human health but maintain those necessary for the good of the birds.

Chicken served in American restaurants. He will eliminate these antibiotics in two years, he said.

In Europe, McDonald’s is also stopping the use of certain “critically important” antibiotics.

There is concern that overuse of antibiotics in chickens affects the effectiveness of the drug in humans.

McDonald’s struggled to win back customers as sales declined.

Many poultry producers in the United States give their birds antibiotics so they can grow faster. However, excessive drug use can make it less effective in treating people and diseases.

Similar global McDonald’s sales, excluding the impact of new restaurant openings, fell 1.8% more than expected in January, following a supplier scandal in China.

His image also darkened after the discovery of a sliced ​​human tooth in Japan last year. The company apologized in January.

The Chickens Good For Health

Marion Gross, senior vice president of McDonald’s US supply chain, said in a statement that “any animal that becomes ill deserves adequate veterinary care and our suppliers will continue to treat birds with prescription antibiotics.”

However, after treatment, the bird is no longer included in our food supply. “”

However, McDonald’s Chicken receives ionophore, an antibiotic that keeps chickens healthy but is not used in humans.

The company also said that American dairy products like low-fat white milk and non-fat chocolate milk come from cows that have not been treated with rBST, an artificial growth hormone.

“Although there is no significant difference between milk from cows treated with rBST and cows not treated with rBST, we understand that this is important to our customers,” Gross said.

The changes respond to the growing demand for foods made only with natural ingredients by consumers.

Last month, Swiss food giant Nestlé announced that it would remove all artificial flavors and colors from its chocolate products in the United States.