Amid rising concern over antibiotic resistance, a new report finds that a dozen of the leading grocery chains in the U.S. are largely failing to take steps that are needed to prevent the spread of so-called superbugs in the food supply chain.
In general, most of the companies lack any meaningful policies requiring their meat and poultry suppliers to eliminate the overuse of antibiotics. More specifically, eight of the 12 largest U.S. supermarket companies received an “F” on a new report card grading their policies on antibiotic usage by suppliers. And none of the retailers received a grade higher than “C.”
The assessments were based on the extent to which the retailers have policies for authorizing suppliers to give their livestock any antibiotics or only medically important antibiotics on a routine basis, or never at all. The grocery companies were also graded on whether any policies currently address the issue or have timetables to do so. And the grades reflected efforts to verify supplier practices.
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