Eighty-three percent of chicken sold in U.S. grocery stores may contain bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses, a consumer group said on Monday, 34 percentage points higher than the rate it found three years ago.
Critics, however, said the study by Consumer Reports suffered from flaws that included an unreliably small number of samples. A U.S. Agriculture Department spokesman called the report "junk science."
Consumer Reports said tests on 525 chickens -- including samples from leading brands Perdue, Pilgrim's Pride Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc. -- showed most of the poultry had campylobacter or salmonella, two of the leading causes of food-borne diseases. A test conducted in 2003 showed 49 percent of the birds had at least one of the bacteria.
A spokesman with the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the study was riddled with flaws such as a small sample size and uncertainty over the report's methodology.
He said it also failed to mention what type of salmonella was found, noting that one common strain, Salmonella Kentucky, doesn't make people ill.
"There is virtually nothing or any conclusion that anyone could draw from 500 samples," said Cohen. "They're passing along junk science and calling it an investigation."
Steve - the real answer lies somewhere in between. I have no doubt that our meat and poultry supply are laden with pathogens. This is why the our government continually attempts to come up with newer and deadlier ways to destroy them, such as irradiation and the proposed viral adulteration. As I have discussed in past blog entries, the way to reduce the amount of pathogens is to alter the system, from feed to packing.
On a positive note, the government is looking at using natural substances, such as oregano and eseential oils to repel pathogens, which would be a much safer and more effective option.
What we can we do in the interim? Surely we cannot stop consuming meat and poultry. However, we need to take the proper precautionary measures to make sure that pathogens are killed off before consumption. This includes properly washing off your meat and poultry before cooking. Clean the surrounding area and receptacles in which you placed the raw meat and poultry. Make sure that you cook your meat and poultry at the proper temperature. If possible, purchase organic or free-range. Maintain healthy gut flora with probiotics and/or natural antimicrobial/bacterial/viral/pathogenic substances such as Grapefruit Seed Extract or Monolaurin.
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