McDonald’s chicken now antibiotic-free

McDonald’s chicken is now 100 percent antibiotic–free.

{mosads}The company announced in a presentation it posted on Twitter that it has “achieved a major commitment to only serve chicken not treated with antibiotics important to human medicine.”

Friends of the Earth and Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, praised the fast food giant for keeping its promise and urged it to take similar action with other meat products.  

“As the nation’s largest restaurant chain, McDonald’s will send an important signal to the entire poultry industry — as well as to its top competitors — that offering chicken raised without antibiotics is both good for business and achievable in short order,” Kari Hamerschlag, deputy director of FOE’s Food and Technology program. “Now, we look forward to the company taking similar swift action on its pork and beef supply, which continues to be produced with routine antibiotics.”

The groups also called on KFC and other major fast food chains to make similar commitments to move away from meat and poultry suppliers that overuse antibiotics.

“The reckless overuse of these critical medications on healthy livestock is contributing to our antibiotics resistance crisis,” Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Union, said in a statement. “McDonald’s has shown that it’s possible to eliminate this practice on a large scale while still meeting its supply needs.”