San Francisco poised to be 1st in U.S to post details about antibiotics in meat, poultry
SAN FRANCISCO (Nicolette Stewart) - San Francisco supervisors are tired of not knowing exactly what is being injected into the chickens and cows that are packaged and sold in their local grocery stores and put into their mouths.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will vote on whether or not San Francisco will be the first city in the nation to enact a law that would allow consumers to know what’s really going into the meat they eat. The ordinance is aimed at larger grocery chains, including Safeway and Trader Joe’s, requesting they report antibiotic use in their meat products to the city’s Department of the Environment, who will then create a website providing the information to consumers, the San Francisco Chronicle noted.
Violators could face penalties, including a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day.
Last week, the supervisors’ Public Safety and Neighborhood Service Committee unanimously approved an ordinance that would require chain grocery stores to report the use of antibiotics in the raw meat and poultry sold in their stores.
The Center for Disease Control says that antibiotic resistance comes from antibiotic treated meat and that it’s one of the “world’s most pressing public health problems.”
Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die.
Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, who sponsored the ordinance, said in a Facebook post- the legislation is “about doing what we can as a city to respond to this growing issue, and keep more San Franciscans safe and healthy.”
The measure is set to go to the full board Tuesday afternoon and with the passing of this “first-in-legislation,” Sheehy says this mandate, “will help reduce these kinds of infections here in San Francisco and protect public health.”