McDonald's® Canada Announces New Antibiotics Policy for Chicken

McDonald's Canada

Action part of company's global commitment to address guests' changing expectations and preferences

TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2015 /CNW/ - McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited today announced a new initiative to only source chicken raised without antibiotics that are important to human medicine by the end of 2018.

"Our guests want food that they feel great about eating – all the way from the farm to the restaurant – and this move takes another step toward better delivering on those expectations," said John Betts, President and CEO, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited.

McDonald's USA has been working closely with farmers for years to reduce the use of antibiotics in its poultry supply. This new Canadian sourcing policy supports McDonald's Global Vision for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Food Animals introduced in March this year, which builds on the 2003 global antibiotics policy and includes supplier guidance on the thoughtful use of antibiotics in all food animals. 

All of the chicken served at McDonald's more than 1,400 Canadian restaurants, including in its iconic Chicken McNuggets®, comes from Canadian chicken farmers and McDonald's Canada will work closely with industry to implement the new antibiotics policy in its chicken supply chain within the next three years.

"McDonald's believes antibiotics have important benefits, but that a few sensible changes to our policy can both maintain their most important benefits while helping to reduce their use overall," said Rob Dick, Senior Director of McDonald's Canada supply chain.

While McDonald's Canada will only source chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine, the farmers who supply chicken for its menu will continue to responsibly use ionophores, a type of antibiotic not used for humans that helps keep chickens healthy.

Today's announcement is the latest step in McDonald's Canada's journey to evolve its menu to better meet the changing preferences and expectations of its guests. Last month McDonald's Canada announced it would transition to 100% Canadian cage-free eggs over the next 10 years.  It is also a founding member of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) in support of the McDonald's global commitment and effort to source verified sustainable beef.

"We are proud to be known for our leadership through our sustainability and sourcing initiatives," added Betts. "We are excited about the journey we are on and will continue to look at evolving our food and menu to deliver the kind of great tasting and quality choices that our guests trust and enjoy."

About McDonald's Canada

In 1967, Canadians welcomed the first McDonald's restaurant to Richmond, British Columbia. Today, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited has become part of the Canadian fabric, serving close to three million guests every day.  Together with our franchisees, we proudly employ 85,000 people from coast-to-coast and approximately 80 per cent of McDonald's 1,400 Canadian restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs. Of the almost $1 billion we spend on food, more than 85 per cent is purchased from suppliers across Canada. For more information on McDonald's Canada visit McDonalds.ca.

SOURCE McDonald's Canada

Image with caption: "Action part of company's global commitment to address guests' changing expectations and preferences. (CNW Group/McDonald's Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151026_C7165_PHOTO_EN_528059.jpg

Adam Grachnik, 416-446-3354, [email protected] or [email protected]