A recent report criticises UK supermarkets for inadequate antibiotic regulations in their supply chains.
- New UK regulations limit antibiotic use in farming, yet implementation by supermarkets is lacking.
- Research by the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics reveals significant gaps among major UK grocers.
- Marks & Spencer rated highest for antibiotic policy implementation, while other retailers lag.
- Concerns are raised over supermarkets’ checks on imported food and fairness to UK farmers.
In a new report, UK supermarkets have been criticised for failing to adequately regulate antibiotic use within their supply chains. The report, conducted by the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics (ASOA), highlights significant deficiencies in the implementation of new UK regulations aimed at reducing antibiotic use in farming. These regulations, rolled out this year, dictate that antibiotics should not be used to make up for poor animal husbandry or hygiene practices.
The ASOA’s research, which continues a series of assessments since 2017, scrutinises the practices of the UK’s largest supermarkets. The study ranks them based on criteria such as having a target to reduce antibiotic use and policies ensuring antibiotics are used only when essential. However, findings revealed that most supermarket policies pertain only to own-brand products, with no supermarket providing comprehensive data on antibiotic use across all their supplier farms.
Marks & Spencer emerged as the leader with ten out of twelve criteria rated as ‘green’, indicating good practice. Tesco and Waitrose shared the second position but were noted for not offering complete information on their antibiotic use. Other supermarkets assessed included Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Co-op, and Iceland. An Iceland spokesperson contested the findings, stating that their policy restricts the use of highest priority critically important antibiotics like colistin, claiming adherence to UK and EU regulations.
The report underscores a critical issue: supermarkets often fail to verify whether imported foods adhere to responsible antibiotic use, creating an uneven playing field for UK farmers and posing potential health risks to consumers. ASOA’s policy and science manager, Cóilín Nunan, emphasised the global prevalence of antibiotic use in farming, estimating it constitutes about two-thirds of all antibiotic usage. ‘This practice is unfair on UK farmers, who adhere to higher standards, and more crucially, it endangers consumer health,’ Nunan stated.
The report calls for UK supermarkets to enhance transparency and adhere more rigorously to antibiotic use regulations in their supply chains.
