Fast-food chains using cheap beef
Fast-food customers are becoming more health-conscious about meat quality.
Serena Poon, celebrity chef & nutritionist, says "Fast-food burgers use antibiotic-laden meat from industrial farms.
You don't know which beef cuts you're eating." The yearly Chain Reaction assessment from U.S. PIRG assigns letter grades to fast-food companies based on their antibiotic use in the cattle they serve.
These restaurants' antibiotic policies vary widely. Some brands have progressive practises, others make empty promises, & others remain mute.
Many chains have banned antibiotics in poultry, but considerably fewer in beef & hog.
Arby's is another popular fast-food business with no public antibiotics policy. If you want to know the chain's dark secrets, read this article. F for beef.
According to Health Digest, Arby's roast beef is ultra-processed & "consists completely of beef & a self-basting solution," a Quality Assurance representative for Arby's told Snopes.
Another chain without a policy = F. Inspire Brands also owns Arby's and Sonic. The corporation reiterates FDA instructions & has no meaningful antibiotic policy.
Burger King's beef lacks antibiotics, earning it a failing grade on Chain Reaction VI.
"Our beef patties are created with 100% beef with no fillers, no preservatives, no additives, no nonsense," the company's website says. Dairy Queen bans antibiotic use in chicken, but not beef.
Chain Reaction report: F. Domino's plans to "transition to pork & beef from from animals reared without medically-important antibiotics" once a sufficient supply is available in the U.S. market.
The meat report graded the largest pizza chain an F. In 2016, Jack in the Box declared it would stop using antibiotics in its chicken by 2020, however the firm scored a 'F' for its beef.
National pizza chains that care about meat appear tougher to locate. Chain Reaction gives Little Caesars an F. There's no policy. Panda Express has antibiotics restrictions for chicken, but not beef.
In October, the chain defended a menu item on Twitter. In "certain items," Panda Express uses antibiotic-free chicken.
Pizza Hut aims to only use antibiotic-free chicken by 2022, but has no beef policy. The pizza chain got a F on the latest Chain Reaction assessment.
Sonic declared in 2017 that it would stop using antibiotics in its chicken, but no proof has been made public. No public antibiotics policy for beef also earned a 'F'.
Your favourite coffee chain? Okay. Starbucks doesn't serve beef.
The chain sells beef products & doesn't have a policy against utilising antibiotic-raised cattle, earning it an F.
Taco Bell vowed in 2019 to cut antibiotics in its beef supply by 25% by 2025, but it hasn't documented progress.
This vow raises it somewhat above failing peers, but it still gets a D.
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