McDonald's will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics; puts pressure on kfc

[ND-Dem]

KFC, the world's largest chain of fried chicken restaurants, may face pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) said it would switch to chicken raised without human antibiotics.

McDonald's will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics that are important to human health over two years to allay concern that use of the drugs in meat production has exacerbated the rise of deadly "superbugs" that resist treatment, Reuters reported last week. Within days, retailer Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O) told Reuters it aims to eliminate the sale of chicken and meat raised with human antibiotics.

KFC is owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), which has no publicly stated policy on antibiotic use in the production of meat it buys. Chick-fil-A, another chicken restaurant chain that competes with KFC, says about 20 percent of the chicken it serves is raised without any antibiotics, and that its entire supply chain will be converted by 2019.

Both McDonald's and Yum are stepping up efforts to win back younger and wealthier diners lured away by chains such as such as Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) and Panera Bread Co (PNRA.O), which boast antibiotic-free meats and other high-quality ingredients.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kfc-faces-pressure-after-mcdonalds-says-no-antibiotics-in-chicken/ar-AA9FJ4p?ocid=iehp

[leveymg]

1. Let us know when McDonalds takes the biproducts and offal out of the Big Macs.

Yum!