Fast food producers urged to stop using meat laced with antibiotics in their menu

[webfact]

Fast food producers urged to stop using meat laced with antibiotics in their menu



BANGKOK: -- Consumers protection organizations in Thailand will join the Federation of the International Consumers Organizations to launch a campaign to urge fast food producers in Thailand to stop using meat laced with antibiotics in their fast food.

Ms Saree Ongsomwang, secretary-general of the Foundation for Consumers, said Friday that the campaign under the slogan “Antibiotics Off the Menu” was to mark the International Consumers’ Rights Day on March 15.

She said that the theme of the campaign in Thailand this year is to convince five major fast food producers to stop or to reduce meat from livestock fed with antibiotics in their menu.

Quoting the Federation of the International Consumers Organizations, Ms Saree disclosed only some fast food producers agreed to use less antibiotics-laced meat in their menu but there are many other companies which are reluctant to make the commitment to reduce or ban antibiotics.

Meanwhile, Assistant Professor Dr Niyada Kiatyingangsulee, director of Drug System Monitoring and Development Centre, said that antibiotics resistance diseases which have become a serious health threat stemmed from overuse of the drugs in livestock raising.

In Thailand, she disclosed that over 10 billion baht worth of antibiotics were used each year and this has led to drug-resistant bacteria. Over 38,000 people die each year or 100 fatalities per day from drug-resistant diseases which is higher than international standard.

Last week, the network of independent consumers protection organizations submitted an open letter to five major fast food producers namely McDonald, Subway, KFC, Chester Grill and Sizzler asking them to reduce the use of meat from livestock fed with antibiotics and to check the sources of their meat.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/154671


-- Thai PBS 2016-03-11

[doremifasol]

Great. Are they prepared to spend more for a better quality as well?

[Prbkk]

Great. Are they prepared to spend more for a better quality as well?

In reality urban consumers have little choice as the entire process, from production, slaughter, transport, retail, is controlled by one great monopoly. That group is never held to account for anything by anyone, effectively a law unto themselves ( as seen in recent, risible court proceedings).

[terryp]

In Thailand, she disclosed that over 10 billion baht worth of antibiotics were used each year and this has led to drug-resistant bacteria

This is out of control!!!...thankfully I dont eat in ANY of the named places

[jucel]

Great. Are they prepared to spend more for a better quality as well?

In reality urban consumers have little choice as the entire process, from production, slaughter, transport, retail, is controlled by one great monopoly. That group is never held to account for anything by anyone, effectively a law unto themselves ( as seen in recent, risible court proceedings).

Expect cancer and diabetes to increase exponentially in the next 20 years.

The monopolies in Thailand are absolute scum of the earth. Fat, egregious, gluttonous creatures of no moral fibre whatsoever,

[jucel]

This is literally one of the worst and most unscrupulous countries on Mother Earth

[SoFarAndNear]

Honestly KFC is super cheap compared to my home country. I always thought how do they do it....

[tuanku]

Not just antibiotics; growth hormones (some of which cause premature breast development in preteen girls), carcinogenic chemicals like propyl gallate and sodium nitrite, and stuff like ractopamine which reduces the fat levels in animals not able to exercise normally under factory conditions.

I would be interested to see a statement by CP foods (Tesco, 7-11 and Macro) as to whether they test their meat for additives and what their limits are.

[MESmith]

You think it's just the fast food outlets? So the fresh meat in the supermarkets & local markets is OK?

[SoilSpoil]

They put that in their food? Im gonna make my own burgers. Is the meat you buy at Makro tainted as well?

[JHolmesJr]

They put that in their food? Im gonna make my own burgers. Is the meat you buy at Makro tainted as well?

I believe it is.....they treat food as a business....what is the fastest way to raise adult animals from calves, fast and without health issues? Growth hormones and antibiotics.

I think animals reared in bulk....pigs, sheep, cattle are the most likely candidates to be fed these chemicals.

Goat, venison, less so. And fish that is not farmed should be ok.

I avoid beef and pork for this reason...only buy free range chicken, the whole bird.

Edited March 11, 2016 by JHolmesJr

[Thian]

Not just antibiotics; growth hormones (some of which cause premature breast development in preteen girls), carcinogenic chemicals like propyl gallate and sodium nitrite, and stuff like ractopamine which reduces the fat levels in animals not able to exercise normally under factory conditions.

I would be interested to see a statement by CP foods (Tesco, 7-11 and Macro) as to whether they test their meat for additives and what their limits are.

My neighbour teenage boy also eats a lot of chicken (he's fat so he has to eat chicken) and he now has bigger boobs then his mother!

[hughben]

So non fast food outlets and supermarkets sell chicken with no antibiotics? Ridiculous.

[Prbkk]

So non fast food outlets and supermarkets sell chicken with no antibiotics? Ridiculous.

Yes, of course it's ridiculous because the whole food chain is contaminated. Monsanto and Dow are sharers and carers relative to many of the Thai agribusinesses. Trying to find anything that is remotely organic is difficult, with no guarantees. The rather sad stall in Amarin Plaza, 4th floor IIRC, staffed by the well-intentioned, never has any customers, so maybe people just interested in organic ( and in any case they just sell vegetables, honey and some other non-animal products).

Who in their right mind would eat anything from KFC? After the chicken head incident the very thought of it makes my stomach churn.

[TheCruncher]

Over 38,000 people die each year or 100 fatalities per day from drug-resistant diseases

Of course this has nothing to do with the fact that antibiotics are available over the counter, and that Thai people play doctor themselves and just buy a bag of choice of the day antibiotics , then instead of taking them for the full cycle just stop when they feel better.

[jerojero]

Urged? Yes, that ought to compel compliance. Ask nicely and the multinational billionaire companies will immediately comply and voluntarily reduce their profits.

[lblake32]

All meat products in the USA (with the exception of "Organic") are raised with antibiotics and growth hormones. That is why meat ofUSA origin is not allowed to be imported into the European Community.

Edited March 12, 2016 by lblake32

[mike324]

Remember reading a report couple years ago, more than half of the veggies in supermarkets exceed the legal limit for pesticides / chemicals as well. So for foreigners who love to eat salads, beware! Wash those veggies very clean or stick with imported ones for Australia / New Zealand.

[ThailandLOS]

Very good initiative, but would be great if they posted a 'white list' over chains that use non-antibiotic meat, not only a black list.

[nemrut]

Much of the livestock in US is pumped full of antibiotics, growth hormones to maximize profit and reduce costs, despite any FDA regulations.

Like Thailand, that is the only way food conglomerates can meet demand at an affordable cost while still making a profit.

The entire meat processing industry is nasty, brutal and cruel in the way livestock is processed.

[stickylies]

In Thailand, she disclosed that over 10 billion baht worth of antibiotics were used each year and this has led to drug-resistant bacteria

This is out of control!!!...thankfully I dont eat in ANY of the named places

i don't eat there either but shockingly i still see antibiotics being described ALL THE TIME at my local provincial hospital. every single little scratch involves antis. this is not a pigfarm but a provincial hospital f.f.s! drives me nuts.

[manhood]

There is no food at the table nowadays not only in Thailand without antibiotics!!!!!!!!!! And much more is added to make a better profit in the food industry. So don't blame and fast food companies. Blame the consumers not going against laws that allow that way of pood production and it's part of the government to take care of their people while having proper food to eat but they are all involved in that food production process and make their money on it.

The consumer is the one who pay for it with is health and the problems we will face in the future more then today:

AND JUST LOOK HOW MASSIVE ANTIBIOTICS ARE GIVEN IN THE HOSPITALS FROM THE DOCOTRS.

Nobody are even the ones who should know much better!

Edited March 12, 2016 by manhood

[Khon Kaen Dave]

WHAT!!!! KFC as well? I love KFC. They are a must visit every time we go into the city.The KFC does the best 2.99 meal ever.Me and the missus can share and its very filling.The one in Tuk Com is the best.KFC? Seriously?

[attrayant]

It seems authorities (both here and in other countries) have reached their conclusion that routine antibiotic use in cattle leads to antibiotic resistance that could endanger humans, or that has lead to the current crisis of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. Seems reasonable right? Maybe not. It seems we may have jumped to a conclusion. That jump may have been based on reasonable assumptions, but it was a jump none the less. The reason is was a jump was because it wasn't based on any actual scientific research. That's no longer true.

New study with input from Colorado State University; Canada's Agriculture and Agri-Food Research Center; University of Saskatoon and University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine: Resistome diversity in cattle and the environment decreases during beef production. Yes, decreases.

This is, as far as I know, the first study to track antibiotic resistance in beef production. There is a popular belief floating around the media that routine (i.e., medically unnecessary) antibiotic use in cattle breeds antibiotic resistance, and this belief is not based on any science of which I am aware. More likely, the conclusion has been deduced because it "seems reasonable" or is "intuitive" based on what we do know about antibiotic resistance spreading through the environment. This study refutes that, as it found a startling lack of resistant genes in meat. From the abstract:

We collected pooled samples from 8 groups of 1741 commercial cattle as they moved through the process of beef production from feedlot entry through slaughter. We recorded antimicrobial drug exposures and interrogated the resistome at points in production when management procedures could potentially influence ARD abundance and/or transmission. Over 300 unique ARDs were identified. Resistome diversity decreased while cattle were in the feedlot, indicating selective pressure. ARDs were not identified in beef products, suggesting that slaughter interventions may reduce the risk of transmission of ARDs to beef consumers.

While NO resistant genes were found in meat products, some were found in the digestive tracts of the cattle and the soil samples taken from the cattle pens. But these resistant genes were NOT resistant to the antibiotics used on the cattle, which is counter-intuitive. It's possible this resistance was picked up from exposure to human handlers or other animals in the environment. That is the conclusion reached by the authors of the study - that we should worry less about antibiotics in cattle and worry more about environmental vectors (waste water, windborne, etc.) of resistant genes.

Granted, this is a single study, although it seems adequately powered. But one study doesn't make it true, and studies are retracted all the time. I'd like to see it replicated elsewhere, maybe in Europe.

As for hormones and some other things mentioned by other posters, well I don't know the laws here in Thailand but it's illegal to give hormones to poultry in most Western countries (banned more than 60 years ago), and many other countries follow suit because they want to import to the west. So if you're paying more for chicken because it has a "hormone free" sticker on it, that's like paying more for a bottle of water because it's labeled "extra wet". And statements like this:

All meat products in the USA (with the exception of "Organic") are raised with antibiotics and growth hormones.

Are false and often based on misinformation campaigns funded by so-called "organic" companies who are hoping you'll pay double or triple the cost for something that may not be any different at all. As stated above, it's illegal to use growth hormones in poultry, and antibiotics are used all the time in organic animal farming when medically necessary, that means for sick animals or for preventive measures. But just as with conventional farming, a suitable period of time must elapse before the cattle can be slaughtered to permit complete metabolization of the drugs and ensure their passage out of the animal's system.

Getting back to the OP, I'd like to see the study replicated and reviewed by other researchers. But it certainly is an interesting first-of-its-kind study.