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Two Thirds Of Store Bought Chickens Contaminated
You would think that after years of alarms about food safety—outbreaks of illness followed by renewed efforts at cleanup—a staple like chicken would be a lot safer to eat. But in the latest analysis of fresh, whole broilers bought at stores nationwide, two-thirds harbored salmonella and/or campylobacter, the leading bacterial causes of foodborne disease. You would think that after years of alarms about food safety—outbreaks of illness followed by renewed efforts at cleanup—a staple like chicken would be a lot safer to eat. But in our latest analysis of fresh, whole broilers bought at stores nationwide, two-thirds harbored salmonella and/or campylobacter, the leading bacterial causes of foodborne disease. That’s a modest improvement since January 2007, when we found that eight of 10 broilers harbored those pathogens. But the numbers are still far too high, especially for campylobacter. Though the government has been talking about regulating it for years, it has yet to do so.
The message is clear: Consumers still can’t let down their guard. They must cook chicken to at least 165º F and prevent raw chicken or its juices from touching any other food.
Each year, salmonella and campylobacter from chicken and other food sources infect 3.4 million Americans, send 25,500 to hospitals, and kill about 500, according to estimates by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the problem might be even more widespread: Many people who get sick don’t seek medical care, and many of those who do aren’t screened for foodborne infections, says Donna Rosenbaum, executive director of Safe Tables Our Priority, a national nonprofit food-safety organization. What’s more, the CDC reports that in about 20 percent of salmonella cases and 55 percent of campylobacter cases, the bugs have proved resistant to at least one antibiotic. For that reason, victims who are sick enough to need antibiotics might have to try two or more before finding one that helps.
Consumer Reports has been measuring contamination in store-bought chickens since 1998. For our latest analysis, we had an outside lab test 382 chickens bought last spring from more than 100 supermarkets, gourmet- and natural-food stores, and mass merchandisers in 22 states. We tested three top brands—Foster Farms, Perdue, and Tyson—as well as 30 nonorganic store brands, nine organic store brands, and nine organic name brands. Five of the organic brands were labeled “air-chilled” (a slaughterhouse process in which carcasses are refrigerated and may be misted, rather than dunked in cold chlorinated water).
Among our findings:
Campylobacter was in 62 percent of the chickens, salmonella was in 14 percent, and both bacteria were in 9 percent. Only 34 percent of the birds were clear of both pathogens. That’s double the percentage of clean birds we found in our 2007 report but far less than the 51 percent in our 2003 report.
Among the cleanest overall were air-chilled broilers. About 40 percent harbored one or both pathogens. Eight Bell & Evans organic broilers, which are air chilled, were free of both, but our sample was too small to determine that all Bell & Evans broilers would be.
Store-brand organic chickens had no salmonella at all, showing that it’s possible for chicken to arrive in stores without that bacterium riding along. But as our tests showed, banishing one bug doesn’t mean banishing both: 57 percent of those birds harbored campylobacter.
The cleanest name-brand chickens were Perdue’s: 56 percent were free of both pathogens. This is the first time since we began testing chicken that one major brand has fared significantly better than others across the board.
Most contaminated were Tyson and Foster Farms chickens. More than 80 percent tested positive for one or both pathogens.
Among all brands and types of broilers tested, 68 percent of the salmonella and 60 percent of the campylobacter organisms we analyzed showed resistance to one or more antibiotics.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2010/january/food/chicken-safety/overview/chicken-safety-ov.htm
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Well, OF COURSE they’re contaminated! They’re doped up and fed DOPE not FEED and the feed they ARE fed is GMO’d to death by the Monsanto murderers – THEN – the birds are splattered with the FECES of OTHER birds as they are being cleaned – so is it any WONDER that they are unfit to eat? This world has gone to hell! Just to HELL!
Of course there’s bacteria on them, just like humans. You have to cook meat.
It is unbelievable how many people refuse to learn what happens at factory farms. Watch the movie Food, Inc. and also even though you may not like the title, read the book “Skinny Bitch” and now the new book “Skinny Bastard”. It is a good source for learning how to being wonderfully healthy eating vegetarian and vegan. Animals are meant to be loved and petted not tortured and abused. I am deeply saddened and angered too. We just must be informed to continue sharing knowledge with our friends and family so they can make choices that at least includes eating LESS animal carcasses. We also must not let the USDA (what a joke) get away with claiming something is organic when it is not.
I totally agree with you Esther! The simple answer to the problem is to become vegan (if only the whole world would!!!).
I totally agree! The world has gone to hell and it’s a matter of time……..doesn’t seem long off either!
I know I am in the minority, on my views of “to vegan” or not, but for thousands of years mankind depended on eating Meat for their survival.
Of course depending on where on the planet you lived maybe they were vegan. I like to look at the past and see what did man do before machines and technology?
The difference?
Well for one thing today we have no respect for the animals we kill for food.
We don’t honor the sacrifice they make. It’s not their choice, so even more reason.
American Indians always gave thanks to the soul of the animal they killed, they revered it. They understood the relationship, and that was way before “modern” man.
Also we do eat too much meat, the balance is off.
As for contamination that is part of the lack of gratefulness we have for this food source. There is no reason animals cannot be used for food in a humane and respectful manner. Why isn’t it? Greed, money, arrogance as a species.
Many say that our issues today are not about money, or any material things, it is spiritual, (no not religion,) spiritual, we don’t give thanks we don’t have respect for the planet or it’s inhabitants…. so I think it isn’t about eating meat or not… it is how we do it. How we look upon what we do as a species.
Giving thanks, respect, you the saying, do unto others etc. and things can be better.
Just because we have a lot of machines and technology… it doesn’t mean we are any smarter than those who came before us. Otherwise food would be ‘cleaner’ . One reason is that we don’t control technology, it controls us.
That’s my two cents. : )
PS there are companies out there who raise animals in a good manner, repectfully. If you eat meat, then buy from them. If greed is the problem in mega farms, I say hit em in the pocket book, it’s what they understand.
Bingo, Barbara! I agree with you completely. However, I don’t believe yours is the minority viewpoint (regarding veganism). It’s the vegans who are the minority, and a very small minority at that! They just seem more numerous than they really are, because they’re so loud and obnoxious.
Veganism is, after all, a fundamentalist religion. For vegans, it’s not enough to quietly choose an unhealthy lifestyle for themselves, based on emotion, politics and/or social considerations rather than nutritional need. No, they wish to force their radical agenda on the rest of us through peer pressure, shaming, intimidation, or political power if necessary.
Vegetarianism is a different matter, and is probably a healthy choice for some portion of the population. But in my opinion, anyone who chooses their diet based on emotion, politics or peer pressure is just a fool!
Lee, said succinctly!
As a farmer of “home grown poultry”, I STILL have to cook the bird completely. The hundreds that I send to a USDA facility, that end up on your plates? You need to cook them completely too.
Birds are carriers of awful diseases- salmonella, avian cholera, avian influenza, Exotic Newcastles…some jump to humans. Others to other birds. I have a biosecure closed farm due to this. But I STILL cook my meats & disinfect the cooking areas.
Paturization and cooking…why do you think they became so popular? It wasnt a govt conspiracy….it made foods safe to eat. We, the consumers of meat, figured that out.
Folks- these are ANIMALS who walked in feces, ate poop, pecked at whatever made them curious and have parasites and other organisms living in/on them NATURALLY. (Just like we do)
Killing them is not a clean and tidy process. There are innards to dispose of and feces inside the animals to contend with (Just like you have in you right now). Opening an animal up smells bad for a reason.
If you want to eat meat- COOK IT. If you dont want to eat meat, dont.
Even as a farmer who depends upon the American love of food…. I think we eat too much meat. Honestly, we could reduce it by 75% and be healthier for it. But its not going to happen.
Yes Margret, I do agree. How can we get this message out to more people? I want to get this message out to the world. The more people that quit eating these poisons the better for the environment and the health of the average person.
it is so very scary and i do not believe organic is really organic, and i beleive that the gov. puts dangerous illnesses in the air, and our food, etc. it is a bio hadardous country, or world maybe. population control. warfare testing, a very bad place to be. i hope i go back to my planet and never be a human again!
WHY IS OUR COUNTRY TRYING TO KILL US ? WHY ARE WE SO DAMN GREEDY ? WHY ARE WE BECOMING COMMUNIST ? GOD SAVE US AND FORGIVE US ALL !!!!!!
I am going to improve my efforts to become vegan and maybe have a lot less days of feeling ill. Is tuna relatively safe? Just trying to think of a way to get enough protein and I have eaten meat for a long time. Just don’t want to anymore knowing that at any time the meat can strike back with a vengenance.
Ron
I think it’s sad that our animals, people and our enviornment have been subjected to such harsh measures. For example, people who already suffer from an autoimmune illness have no idea that eating chicken or other poultry could be poisoning them more, it’s total negligence and down right criminal for this to happen. And, the animals are being treated in the same way.
Vaccines, viruses, bacteria, pesticides, metals, etc are poisoning our world, if there wasn’t so much greed, we would be a much healthier world, but unfortunately it’s the pharmaceutical industry and monsanto that can’t handle losing even a penny, and they wonder why our health care is out of control.
More people need to fight back to their congressmen and demand change in our food and drug control, after all what is life if you can’t be healthy, eventually all these people will become autoimmune and they will see what it’s like to really be sick and find out that the food, vaccines, etc. has poisoned them too.
I think it’s sad that our animals, people and our enviornment have been subjected to such harsh measures. For example, people who already suffer from an autoimmune illness have no idea that eating chicken or other poultry could be poisoning them more, it’s total negligence and down right criminal for this to happen. What’s more, the animals are being treated in the same way.
Vaccines, viruses, bacteria, pesticides, metals, etc are poisoning our world, if there wasn’t so much greed, we would be a much healthier world, but unfortunately it’s the pharmaceutical industry and monsanto that can’t handle losing even a penny, and they wonder why our health care is out of control.
More people need to fight back to their congressmen and demand change in our food and drug control, after all what is life if you can’t be healthy, eventually all these people will become autoimmune and they will see what it’s like to really be sick and find out that the food, vaccines, etc. has poisoned them too.