A handful of the 20 largest restaurant chains across the U.S. received failing grades when it came to adopting policies for restricting the overuse of antibiotics in the meat they serve, according to an analysis by a nonprofit that tracks the issue in food-producing livestock.
The five chains — Olive Garden, Dairy Queen, Arby’s, Little Caesars, and Sonic — were cited because they lack public policies to ensure their meat suppliers comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations to address antibiotic resistance. All 20 chains examined were graded based on policies and actions concerning antibiotic use in beef, turkey, pork, and chicken.
The analysis found the vast majority of the chains have no publicly available policy governing antibiotic use by their beef, pork, or turkey suppliers. By contrast, 15 chains did implement “meaningful policies” for chicken suppliers, but only two — Chipotle and KFC — received an A+ for implementing policies to restrict the use of medically important antibiotics for treating of sick animals for all meat served.
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