Sixteen of America’s biggest fast food chains have been given a C food safety rating or lower due to the amount of antibiotics used in their meats.
And five of the 20 most popular restaurant franchises received ‘F’ grades as they have no publicly available policies governing antibiotic use in their beef, pork, or turkey supplies.
The restaurants that failed were: Arby’s, Sonic Drive-In, Dairy Queen, Olive Garden, and Little Caesars.
While there is no immediate, direct harm from consuming meat treated with antibiotics, doing so could help promote drug-resistant bacteria.
The investigation by the The Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) graded big name restaurants based on the types of meat they serve as of October, 2024.
Panda Express received a ‘D-‘ grade for serving ‘some chicken raised without antibiotics’ which was deemed an ‘important first step’.
Panera, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Dunkin’ were upgraded slightly to a ‘D’ rating for having better transparency as they all published a report in 2023 with information regarding their antibiotic policies.
Popeyes, Taco Bell, Starbucks, Subway and McDonald’s received ‘C’ grades in their efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics, while Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A got Bs.
A shocking new report has slapped 16 of America’s biggest fast food chains with a C food safety rating or below due to the amount of antibiotics contained in their meats
Chipotle and KFC received the only two ‘A’ grades as the study authors said that ‘both companies have meaningful antibiotic policies for all of the meat types served in their respective restaurants.’
For Chipotle, this includes beef, pork and chicken. For KFC, this covers chicken, the only meat served.
Chipotle was also upgraded to an A+ for having ‘meaningful policies across all of its meats’ and it was the only restaurant to not allow Carbadox – a cancer-causing feed additive commonly given to piglets – in its meat supply.
Antibiotics are highly effective in treating infections in animals that are to be slaughtered for food.
Livestock typically undergo a withdrawal period of a few days before they’re slaughtered to reduce the amount of medicine seeping into the meat that people eat.
The overuse of antibiotics makes it much more difficult for medicines to eliminate bacterial infections – and could mean that a simple case of food poisoning becomes deadly.
A previous FDA analysis of animal feed found that of the 30 antibiotics used in different kinds, 18 of them posed a high risk of exposing humans to antibiotic-resistant bacteria through food.
Meanwhile, the CDC estimates that 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur every year in the US.
About 660,000 of those are caused by resistant forms of salmonella and campylobacter, two bacteria commonly spread by animals slaughtered for food.
The global public health community, including organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), identifies antibiotic-resistant bacteria as one of the most significant threats to public health worldwide.
Five of the 20 top restaurant chains received ‘F’ grades as they have no publicly available policies governing antibiotic use in their beef, pork, or turkey supplies
According to the CDC, more than 35,000 people in the United States die each year from infections that are resistant to antibiotics.
However, other estimates suggest that this number could be much higher, potentially exceeding 160,000 deaths annually.
For the recent FACT investigation, authors examined company websites, annual reports, corporate sustainability reports and other publicly available information on company policies and summarized this information.
They said, explaining the process: ‘These summaries were sent via email and certified mail to the restaurant chains and they were asked to confirm that the information was correct, or if incorrect, provide us with accurate and up-to-date information.
‘We sent a follow up email in cases where companies did not respond to our initial outreach. Where we had specific questions about company policies such as for Panera, Subway and McDonald’s, we followed up with additional emails.
‘In cases where we received no response from companies, we based our analyses on our initial summaries containing publicly available information and on a recheck of company websites.’
Chipotle and KFC received the only two ‘A’ grades as the study authors said that ‘both companies have meaningful antibiotic policies for all of the meat types served
In light of the findings, the authors conclude: ‘Companies can play an important role in reducing the overuse of antibiotics by their meat suppliers in order to stop the spread of deadly superbugs that this overuse causes.
‘The impact of company action is clearly illustrated in the chicken sector which has significantly lowered its use of antibiotics.
‘Unfortunately, as illustrated in this report, the restaurant sector as a whole is moving in the wrong direction with some of the largest companies reversing earlier policies that stopped overuse.’
Dr Darin Detwiler, a former USDA food expert, told DailyMail.com that the big takeaway from the FACT report is that ‘consumers need to be aware that not all fast-food chains are on the same page when it comes to antibiotic use in the meat they use on the food we eat.’
He added: ‘Consumers can help address this issue by supporting responsible antibiotic use policies, choosing antibiotic-free meat products, and raising awareness about the risks, particularly for the most at-risk groups.
‘By choosing establishments committed to responsible antibiotic use, individuals can help drive industry-wide changes and mitigate the spread of superbugs.
‘However, avoiding certain chains is a personal decision and should be informed by individual values and the latest available information.’
