In an interesting move, the biggest fast food chain in the world has taken a step in the fight against superbugs, which is to say, types of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, as it has been announced that McDonald's antibiotics policy, which saw its chicken products filled with different types of antimicrobials, will now cease to exist.
The new McDonald's antibiotics policy could set up a chain reaction among similar of the major fast food companies in the US, after strong lobbying in the food industry as experts become increasingly alarmed with the development of viruses and types of bacteria resistant to this kind of medication.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the McDonald's antibiotics announcement came earlier this week, as the company famous for its golden arches released a statement saying that, at least in the United States, they'd stop selling chicken that receive antibiotics; this will include their McNuggets as well as their entire set of chicken products.
As BBC recounts, the McDonald's antibiotics chicken ban is a huge deal for the industry. Over the course of decades, farmers that specialize in growing chickens have fed the birds mild dosages of antibiotics to help them gain weight to be sold afterwards; and not just any kind of antibiotics, but actually the ones used on humans for all kinds of infections.
Of course, the fact that these antibiotics can be found in food items makes experts worldwide concerned that consumers could potentially develop resistance due to McDonald's antibiotics.
While many news outlets have praised the measure, others like Vox have reported that it doesn't go far enough, in the midst of the "superbug" scare nationwide; the news outlets states that, though the company will stop using human antibiotics, they'll still allow farmers to use ionophores (antibiotics made for animals), and its overuse could also have a negative impact on public health.
In any case, McDonald's antibiotics ban seems to be one step in the right direction for the Ronald McDonald company.
