UK Supermarkets Must Help Restrict Meat Industry Antibiotic Use, Says Report

A report from the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics (ASOA) has found that UK supermarkets are not doing enough to ensure their suppliers are not misusing antibiotics on animal farms. This overuse of antibiotics on farmed animals globally is contributing to the rise of superbugs, which are pathogens resistant to antibiotics and responsible for more than a million deaths annually. Retailers can play a crucial role in addressing this issue by setting standards for their suppliers, but most UK supermarkets only cover their own-branded products in their antibiotics policies.

Factory farming practices, such as poor hygiene, high stress levels, and preventive antibiotic use, are cited as contributing factors to the problem. Marks and Spencer was highlighted as having the most comprehensive antibiotics policy among the supermarkets assessed, covering its full supply chain and abstaining from selling meat from fast-growing chickens. While antibiotic use on UK farms has decreased significantly in recent years due to stricter regulations, the report emphasizes the need for supermarkets to extend their policies to cover imported and branded products to effectively combat the issue globally.