Now, every chicken item McDonald’s serves is made from chicken not treated with antibiotics important to human medicine; although the company noted that farmers still use ionophores, a class of antibiotics that are not prescribed to people, to maintain healthy chicken flocks.
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McDonald’s has reached its pledge to stop selling chicken that has been raised on a diet of medically important antibiotics ahead of schedule, Consumers Union said Monday.
McDonald’s rid many of its products of various controversial preservatives after facing growing pressure from consumer bodies to alter food culture in the US. He said the changes are part of an ongoing effort by McDonald’s to cater to more health-focused customers who demand fresh, wholesome food.
But investors appeared unimpressed, sending shares in the burger chain down US$0.52, or US$0.44%, to US$117.49 in early NY trading.
McDonald’s also plans to remove artificial preservatives from its Chicken McNuggets. “We’ve seen a slew of restaurants announce they’re going cage- free since McDonald’s announced the move”.
By the end of this month, buns used on Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, Filet-O-Fish and McChicken sandwiches will no longer contain high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener often used in soda, candy and other processed food.
“We need to think about our ingredient labels as being much smaller”, said former head of McDonald’s USA operations Mike Andres of the restaurant’s recent announcement.
McDonald’s is now testing healthier menu items in regional markets, like Latino-inspired breakfast bowls in Southern California, including an egg white scrambled with sauteed baby spinach and kale, as well as a scrambled egg with cheese and chicken chorizo, topped with hash browns.
While numerous new ingredients will be more expensive to buy – like caged-free hens and antibiotic-free chicken – Ms Gross said that cost will not be passed on to customers.
This latest series of changes follows what McDonald’s did past year when it committed to sourcing 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2015 and replacing iceberg lettuce with fresh romaine, baby spinach and baby kale in its salad blends.
Jessica Foust, director of culinary innovation at McDonald’s, spoke about the challenges cooking with “real ingredients” posed – including how to blend the butter.
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In fact, the group says the fast food company met its commitment sooner than it had promised.
