McDonalds to limit use of antibiotics in chicken supply.

Fast food restaurant chain, McDonalds says it will start globally cutting back use of antibiotics in its chicken products from 2018 as part of efforts to curb microbial resistance to drugs and the rise of superbugs.

t applies to drugs that are also used in human medicine, called Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIA) by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The company said that by 2018, HPCIAs will be eliminated in broiler chicken for the Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the US, and Europe. An exception will be made for the antibiotic colistin for Europe only.

It will be fully implemented globally by January 2027, although the firm said: "Our goal is to have this policy implemented before this date."

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