By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Taco Bell on Monday said its
more than 6,000 U.S. fast-food restaurants will stop using eggs
laid by caged hens by Jan. 1, 2017, years ahead of the deadlines
set by its major rivals.
McDonald's Corp (N:MCD) in September said its 16,000 U.S.
and Canadian restaurants would switch to cage-free eggs within
10 years.
Such announcements come as North American egg suppliers are
starting to rebuild flocks after the worst bird flu outbreak in
U.S. history.
U.S. restaurants are moving toward food that is less
processed, produced more humanely and raised with fewer
antibiotics.
Taco Bell, a division of Yum Brands Inc, said its
whole eggs will be certified according to cage-free egg
production standards set by the American Humane Association.
The chain also reiterated that it would remove artificial
flavors and colors, added trans fat, high fructose corn syrup,
and unsustainable palm oil from its core menu items by the
beginning of 2016.
Critics are also pressing Taco Bell to follow Chick-fil-A,
McDonald's, Subway and other rivals with a commitment to
sourcing meat from animals raised with fewer antibiotics.