Wendy’s To Ban Chickens With Human Antibiotics By 2017

Wendy's Co, the fifth-largest U.S. fast-food chain by revenue, will quit using chickens raised with antibiotics important to human health by 2017, the company told Reuters on Thursday.

Fast-food industry leader McDonald's Corp on Monday said it had completed its shift to using only using chickens raised without antibiotics important to human medicine, months ahead of its estimated March 2017 target.

Concern has been growing among public health experts, consumers and shareholders that the overuse of such drugs is contributing to rising numbers of life-threatening human infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria dubbed "superbugs."

An estimated 70 percent of antibiotics important to human health are sold for use in meat and dairy production.

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