McDonald’s to serve smaller side order of antibiotics with its McNuggets
Fast food chain plans to reduce the use of antibiotics in its chicken products as part of efforts to curb microbial resistance to drugs and the rise of superbugs
New York — McDonald’s says it will start globally rolling back use of antibiotics in its chicken products from 2018 as part of efforts to curb microbial resistance to drugs and the rise of superbugs. The decision follows a similar move undertaken in the US market in 2016. It applies to drugs that are also used in human medicine, called Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIA) by the World Health Organisation (WHO). "Starting in 2018, we will begin implementing a new broiler chicken antibiotics policy in markets around the world," the company said in a statement issued on Wednesday. By 2018, HPCIAs will be eliminated in broiler chicken for the Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the US, and Europe. An exception will be made for the antibiotic colistin for Europe only. The policy will be extended for Australia and Russia to by the end of 2019, when the colistin exception for Europe will be phased out. It will be fully implemented globally by January 2027, although ...
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