Report Shows Superbug Contamination In 62% Of Common Supermarket Meats

Antibiotic-resistant
bacteria has been detected in 62 percent of common US supermarket meats, according to new data
released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Results

The non-profit
– which aims to empower the public to protect their health through information –
analyzed over 47,000 tests to determine the contamination rate.

Results
showed high levels of potentially harmful bacteria in chicken, turkey, pork,
and beef, caused by the administration of antibiotics to livestock.

Antibiotic-resistant
bacteria contamination rates ranged from 36 percent in chicken breasts, legs, thighs, and wings to 79 percent in ground
turkey – while ground beef and pork chops hit 62 and 71 percent, respectively.

The
organization also found that 20 percent of salmonella found in supermarket
chicken was resistant to the antibiotic most commonly used to treat the ailment
– amoxicillin.

Federal
corruption

According
to the EWG report – which hints at corruption on a federal level – The Federal
Drug Association (FDA) has made an effort to downplay the severity of the
situation.

The report
also argued that the government allows administration of ‘highly important
antibiotics to healthy animals to compensate for stressful, crowded and
unsanitary conditions’ – circumstances which result from prioritizing the
bottom line.

On the
EWG’s stance, the report read: “We believe that bacterial resistance
to a single antibiotic is superbug enough, and consumers shouldn’t have to wait
for widespread, multiple-drug resistance and untreatable bacterial infections
for the FDA to protect them.”