What Fast Food Restaurants Are Using Antibiotics? An Updated Guide

According to a November 2024 report by Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), many major U.S. restaurant chains still fail to track and report on antibiotic use in their beef, pork, and turkey supply chains, despite some progress in chicken. Consumers concerned about public health and antimicrobial resistance face a complex landscape when choosing where to eat fast food.

Quick Summary

Reports from consumer groups grade major restaurant chains on antibiotic use in their meat supply. While many have made progress in reducing antibiotic use in chicken, most still use meat from animals routinely given antibiotics, especially beef and pork.

Key Points

• Leaders: Chipotle, BurgerFi, and Shake Shack consistently earn top marks for their strict "No Antibiotics Ever" or equivalent sourcing policies across most meats.

• Lagging Chains: Many popular restaurants, including Burger King, Sonic, Arby's, and Domino's, have received failing grades in consumer reports for lacking comprehensive, public antibiotic policies.

• Mixed Records: Major brands like McDonald's, Wendy's, and KFC have improved policies for chicken but often lag significantly or move slowly on commitments for beef and pork.

• Loosening Standards: Even chains with historically strong policies, like Chick-fil-A and Panera, have recently weakened their commitment from "No Antibiotics Ever" to less stringent standards.

• Progress by Meat Type: The poultry industry has made significant strides in reducing antibiotic use due to pressure, but beef and pork supply chains have progressed much more slowly.

• The Public Health Concern: The routine overuse of antibiotics in livestock contributes to antibiotic resistance, a major public health threat where bacteria become impervious to life-saving medications.

The Problem with Routine Antibiotic Use in Livestock

For decades, the overuse of antibiotics in healthy food-producing animals has been a critical public health concern. Rather than being used solely to treat sick animals, these drugs are often administered to prevent disease in crowded, unsanitary factory farming conditions, as well as to promote faster growth. This practice contributes significantly to antibiotic resistance, a phenomenon where bacteria evolve and become resistant to the drugs designed to kill them.

Resistant bacteria, or "superbugs," can enter the human food supply through contaminated meat, produce, or water. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that millions of antibiotic-resistant infections occur annually in the U.S., leading to thousands of deaths. Consumer demand and pressure from public interest groups have driven some changes, particularly within the chicken industry, but progress across other meat categories remains slow.

Fast-Food Chains with Strong Antibiotic Policies

Certain fast-food and fast-casual chains have distinguished themselves by implementing strong, comprehensive policies for reducing antibiotic use. These companies often respond to public pressure and leverage their purchasing power to influence the entire supply chain.

Leaders in Antibiotic Stewardship

• Chipotle Mexican Grill: Consistently receives high marks for its commitment to serving meat raised without antibiotics across its chicken, beef, and pork categories. The company has long been considered a standard-bearer for conscientious sourcing.
• BurgerFi: As a smaller, specialized chain, BurgerFi has earned recognition for its strong policies, serving chicken and beef with a "no antibiotics ever" standard.
• Shake Shack: Another smaller burger chain, Shake Shack, has also been recognized for implementing strong, transparent antibiotic policies.

Chains with Mixed Records on Antibiotic Use

Many of the biggest players in the fast-food industry have adopted tiered approaches to antibiotic use, often showing greater progress on chicken while lagging behind on other meats.

Progress in Chicken, Gaps in Beef and Pork

• McDonald's: The company has made significant changes to its chicken policy, eliminating medically important antibiotics. However, advocacy groups have criticized the chain for a lack of progress in setting and implementing concrete reduction targets for its beef and pork supply, despite earlier commitments.
• Wendy's: Similar to McDonald's, Wendy's has shown progress in reducing antibiotic use in chicken and has committed to curtailing medically important antibiotic use in beef. However, the commitment for beef was criticized for a long timeline and slow implementation.
• Chick-fil-A: After a long-standing "No Antibiotics Ever" (NAE) policy, Chick-fil-A shifted its chicken policy in early 2024 to "No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine" (NAIHM). While still an improvement over widespread use, this represents a notable loosening of its previous, stricter standard.
• KFC: This chicken-focused chain has committed to and successfully implemented policies eliminating medically important antibiotics from its chicken supply chain.

Fast Food Restaurants with Lagging Antibiotic Policies

For many chains, consumer reports repeatedly show a failure to adopt strong, public-facing policies, especially for beef and pork. These companies often receive failing grades in independent evaluations.

• Burger King: Often cited in consumer reports for failing grades on its beef and pork policies. While it has made some narrow commitments on chicken, its overall approach is lacking.
• Domino's Pizza: Has consistently received failing grades in reports due to a lack of public policies on antibiotic use across its meat supply.
• Sonic Drive-In: While the company has a limited policy for chicken, it lacks public policies for its beef and pork, resulting in low scores from consumer groups.
• Arby's: Frequently appears on lists of chains with poor or nonexistent antibiotic policies for its beef, pork, and turkey.
• Little Caesars: Similar to other pizza chains, Little Caesars has been noted for failing to address antibiotic use in its supply chain.

Understanding Different Antibiotic-Free Claims

When evaluating fast food options, understanding the terminology used by companies is crucial. Different claims have different implications for public health.

• "No Antibiotics Ever" (NAE): The most stringent claim, meaning the animals were never administered antibiotics at any point during their lives.
• "No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine" (NAIHM): This claim allows for the use of antibiotics not deemed critical for human medicine, a policy often criticized for being weaker than NAE.
• Therapeutic Use Only: Allows for antibiotics to be used to treat sick animals, but prohibits their use for routine prevention or growth promotion.

Comparison of Fast Food Antibiotic Policies

This table summarizes the general status of antibiotic policies for key meat categories based on recent consumer reports.

Restaurant	Chicken Policy	Beef Policy	Pork Policy	Overall Score/Status
Chipotle	No Antibiotics Ever	No Antibiotics Ever	No Antibiotics Ever	Strongest Comprehensive Policy
BurgerFi	No Antibiotics Ever	No Antibiotics Ever	Not Specified	Excellent Beef & Chicken Policy
Panera	Weaker NAIHM	Weakened Policy	Weaker NAIHM	Has Reversed Past Commitments
Shake Shack	No Antibiotics Ever	No Antibiotics Ever	Not Specified	Strong Beef & Chicken Policy
McDonald's	NAIHM	Reduced Use Target (Slow Progress)	Reduced Use Target (Slow Progress)	Mixed Record, Chicken Stronger
Chick-fil-A	NAIHM	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Recent Downgrade from NAE
Wendy's	NAIHM	Reduced Use Target (Slow Progress)	Not Specified	Mixed Record, Progress on Chicken
KFC	NAIHM	Not Applicable	Not Specified	Strong Chicken Policy
Burger King	Limited NAIHM	No Public Policy	No Public Policy	Lagging, Failing Grades
Domino's Pizza	No Public Policy	No Public Policy	No Public Policy	Lagging, Failing Grades
Sonic Drive-In	Limited NAIHM	No Public Policy	No Public Policy	Lagging, Failing Grades

The Role of Consumer Advocacy

Consumer and health advocacy groups, such as Consumer Reports and the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), play a vital role in pressuring the fast-food industry to change. By issuing annual reports like the "Chain Reaction" scorecard, these organizations highlight best practices and shame chains that lag behind. This public accountability has been a major driver behind the industry's significant shift toward antibiotic-free chicken over the last decade. Consumers can support these efforts by staying informed and choosing to patronize restaurants with stronger, more transparent antibiotic policies.

Conclusion: Navigating the Evolving Fast Food Market

While some industry giants have made commendable strides, particularly in their chicken supply, a significant number of fast food restaurants continue to source meat from animals routinely given antibiotics. The stark difference in policy quality between companies underscores the need for consumer vigilance. Choosing chains like Chipotle, BurgerFi, or Shake Shack guarantees a meal with little to no antibiotic exposure, while other popular options often present a mixed or low-transparency picture. Ultimately, the power of consumer choice continues to be a potent tool in pushing the fast food industry toward more responsible and sustainable sourcing practices.

For more in-depth information, consider reviewing the full Chain Reaction V report from Consumer Reports and partner organizations, or more recent updates from FACT.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which fast food chains use the most antibiotics in their meat?

According to consumer group reports, fast food chains with the weakest policies, and therefore likely higher antibiotic use, include Burger King, Sonic, Domino's, and Arby's, which have all received failing grades for their comprehensive sourcing practices.

Are fast food companies required to disclose their antibiotic policies?

No, fast food companies are not legally required to publicly disclose their antibiotic sourcing policies. Public disclosure is largely voluntary, driven by consumer pressure and reports from advocacy groups.

Is all fast food chicken antibiotic-free now?

No, not all fast food chicken is antibiotic-free. While many large chains have phased out medically important antibiotics in chicken, some still use antibiotics not considered critical to human health, and some smaller chains have no public policy at all.

What is the difference between 'No Antibiotics Ever' and 'No Medically Important Antibiotics'?

'No Antibiotics Ever' means the animal was never given antibiotics, period. 'No Medically Important Antibiotics' (NAIHM) means the animal was not given antibiotics also used in human medicine, but may have received other types of antibiotics.

Which major fast food chain has the strongest antibiotic policy for its beef?

Chipotle has the strongest and most comprehensive antibiotic policy for beef among major fast food chains, committed to sourcing beef that has been raised without any antibiotics.

How can I find out if a restaurant has a good antibiotic policy?

You can check independent consumer reports from organizations like Consumer Reports, PIRG, or Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT). These organizations often provide scorecards grading restaurants on their policies and transparency.

Why is it harder to eliminate antibiotics from beef than chicken?

According to consumer advocacy groups, cattle typically live longer and are subjected to different stress factors than chickens, making it more complex and costly to raise them completely without antibiotics.