Resistance and responsibility: Antibiotic use in supermarket supply chains

Supermarket antibiotic policies primarily cover own-brand foods, with little progress made towards branded products. To protect consumers and maintain British farming standards, policies should extend to branded and imported foods. New veterinary medicines legislation, effective from May 17, 2024, prohibits farmers from using antibiotics routinely and compensating for poor hygiene, inadequate animal husbandry, or poor farm management practices. However, low minimum husbandry standards in supermarket supply chains lead to excessive antibiotic use, resulting in poor hygiene, stress, and avoidable diseases. Imported food can still be legally produced with routine antibiotic use.