San Francisco requires grocers to disclose antibiotics used in raising food animals

Lawmakers in San Francisco this week passed an ordinance requiring major grocery chains to report information about antibiotic use in the raising of livestock that the approximately 120 stores eventually sell as meat to the public. The order by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors wants the grocery chains to collect the information and provide annual reports to the city’s Department of Environment for distribution to consumers. The goal is to spark a marketplace shift toward antibiotic-free meat and poultry. The report adds that the use of antibiotics to speed up growth or protect confined animals has been partly blamed for an uptick in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The new ordinance does not target processors or producers but includes penalties --including a civil penalty of as much as $1,000 per day -- for grocery chains that do not comply with the reporting standards, the report said.