By Susan Kelly on 12/12/2018
Wendy’s Co. announced a partnership with Progressive Beef to implement a beef supply program focusing on standards for animal welfare, food safety, antibiotic use and environmental sustainability.
The third-party verification program will be implemented in a substantial part of Wendy’s beef supply starting in 2019 and is expected to be adopted across 50 percent of its supply chain by 2021, the hamburger chain said. The program focuses on three core areas, which will be verified by USDA-approved auditors:
- Cattle care: providing a safe, humane environment for cattle through staff training on management practices and hands-on veterinary care.
- Food safety and antibiotic use:responsibly using antibiotics under the supervision of a veterinarian and with thorough record-keeping, strictly adhering to withdrawal times, utilizing HACCP principles and ensuring a clean and safe environment for the animals.
- Environmental sustainability: responsibly utilizing natural resources while investing in the people who care for the cattle and the local communities through staff training and certification.
Wendy’s said it reached a prior goal in 2018 of sourcing 100 percent of its beef from Beef Quality Assurance certified sources. The company also sourced nearly 20 percent of its beef from producers who have tracked and reduced their use of medically important antibiotics. Wendy’s said it is continuing to work on quantifying antibiotic use in its supply chain and further reducing use of antibiotics where possible.
More information on Wendy’s corporate social responsibility standards can be found here.
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