Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 10/26/15


McDonald’s Canada is following the lead of its U.S.-based parent company by vowing to only source chicken raised without antibiotics used in human medicine by the end of 2018, the company said in a statement.

The Toronto-based company noted that all of the chicken served at its 1,400 restaurants comes from Canadian chicken farmers and it plans to work with those suppliers to implement new antibiotics policy. That policy does not ban the responsible use of ionophores, which is a type of antibiotic not used for humans that helps chickens stay healthy.

The announcement follows a move by its Oak Brook-based parent in March to stop using chickens exposed to human antibiotics over the next two years. The Canadian sourcing policy supports the Global Vision for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Food Animals introduced by McDonald’s earlier this year.

McDonald’s joined several fast food and fast casual chains committing to reduce or eliminate the use of animals raised with human antibiotics, including Subway, and Wendy’s.

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