The antibiotics policies of the food industry
Antibiotics are a cornerstone of modern medicine. They are not only essential for treating infectious diseases, but widely used for preventing infections for those undergoing life‑saving procedures like cancer chemotherapy, organ transplants caesareans, or other types of major surgery.
But unfortunately, as antibiotic resistance increases, antibiotics are losing their power.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the main cause of increasing antibiotic resistance is the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans, animals and plants. The more antibiotics are used, the more bacteria are likely to evolve to resist their action.
The WHO warns that a post-antibiotic era puts many of the gains of modern medicine at risk. The rise of antibiotic resistance isn’t just a threat for the future. Already, it is estimated that annually antibiotic resistance kills 1.27 million people worldwide, including 7,600 people in the UK.
The best approach to tackling antibiotic resistance is to minimise antibiotic use, and to only use these life-saving medicines in human medicine and farming when truly needed.
Antibiotic use in farming
Unfortunately, antibiotics are often overused in farming. Although antibiotic use in the UK is lower than in many countries, they are still used often for treating entire groups of animals, to help control diseases caused by the unhygienic and stressful conditions in which many intensively farmed animals are raised.
In May 2024, new legislation was introduced which finally bans the routine use of antibiotics in UK farming, and on using antibiotics to compensate for poor hygiene and inadequate animal husbandry. This is very welcome, although the legislation is still weaker than the EU’s as it does not fully ban prophylactic group treatments, nor require statutory antibiotic-use data collection by animal species. There are also concerns over whether the legislation will be fully implemented, as major improvements to animal husbandry are needed.
UK and EU farm antibiotic use is falling, but far greater reductions are needed, and are achievable.
The antibiotics policies of restaurant chains
Since antibiotic-resistant bacteria can spread from farm animals to humans through the food chain, it is essential that all companies involved in the food industry should have policies which require antibiotics to be used responsibly.
As part of its Out to Lunch campaign, the Soil Association, working with the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics (a campaign group jointly run by the Soil Association, Compassion in World Farming and Sustain), has examined the antibiotics policies that the UK’s leading restaurant chains require their suppliers to follow.
The Soil Association wrote to restaurant chains asking them if they had an antibiotics policy, and also examined their websites to see if any already had policies published online.
It was encouraging to see 16 of the 20 restaurant chains included in the analysis either had an antibiotics policy published online or provided a policy in response to the Soil Association’s survey (Pizza Express, Prezzo and Wahaca had no policy, and Franco Manca did not reply to the survey). However, these policies were weak. Many were very basic, often focusing on encouraging their suppliers to use antibiotics responsibly and to respect existing legislation.
Only nine restaurant chains had specific restrictions on the use of the highest-priority critically important antibiotics (Bella Italia, Brewers Fayre, Carluccio’s, Frankie and Benny’s, Hungry Horse, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, TGI Friday’s, Wetherspoons). These antibiotics are those that the WHO says that should be prioritised for the greatest restrictions in farming.
Only TGI Friday required their suppliers to report data on their antibiotic usage on an annual basis. McDonalds and Hungry Horse say they are working towards collecting antibiotic-usage data, for some or all of their suppliers, and Wagamama requires their suppliers to monitor their own antibiotic usage, but these three companies are not currently requiring their suppliers to report usage data.
How restaurant chains compare with supermarkets and catering companies
The Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics has also recently examined the antibiotics policies of both supermarkets and catering companies.
At present, supermarkets clearly have the strongest policies. Ten of eleven leading supermarkets have an antibiotics policy (only the online retailer Ocado has yet to develop a policy). Eight supermarkets have restrictions on the highest-priority critically important antibiotics and collect antibiotic-use data from their suppliers. M&S has the strongest policies, followed by Waitrose and Tesco.
On the other hand, catering companies are lagging behind. The Alliance found that only five of ten leading catering companies had an antibiotic policy. No catering companies collect data on their suppliers antibiotic use and only one company (Elior) restricts the use of the highest-priority critically important antibiotics.
However, despite supermarkets having the strongest policies, they are generally only being applied to own-brand foods, and branded foods, which can include imported meat, fish, dairy and eggs, are not covered. Furthermore, the Alliance is concerned that supermarket supply chains are not yet complying with new legislation which prohibits using antibiotics to prop up poor farming practices.
Supermarket policies have gradually strengthened since the Alliance published its first of four supermarket reports in 2017. It seems clear that these policies have contributed to significant reductions in UK farm antibiotic use over the past decade.
For the first time, attention has now turned to the policies of restaurant chains and catering companies. It is hoped that these companies will also start taking greater responsibility for ending the overuse of antibiotics in their supply chains.
