Food

McDonald’s issues new chicken wellness standards

McDonald’s has introduced new wellness standards for its chickens.

The chain is requiring its suppliers to provide perches that encourage natural behavior and has issued new rules regulating the amount and brightness of light in chicken houses, Reuters reports.

Suppliers have until 2024 to comply with the new standards. McDonald’s has also announced that it will conduct trials to measure the well-being of different chicken breeds with its suppliers. The company said the new standards will not affect prices at its restaurants.

The news comes on the heels of McDonald's new buttermilk crispy chicken tenders, which the chain says are made with 100% white-meat chicken with no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners