[Texgreen] Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Found in U.S. Poultry

Fri, 13 Dec 2002 09:03:44 -0600

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Found in U.S. Poultry 
http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2002/2002-12-10-10.asp
By J.R. Pegg 

WASHINGTON, DC, December 10, 2002 (ENS) - Three times more antibiotics
by weight are fed to poultry in the United States than humans consume,
and the poultry industry's use of antibiotics is a health risk to
American turkey and chicken eaters, according to two independent studies
released today. 

The studies, one from Consumer Reports and another jointly produced by
the Sierra Club and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
(IATP), raise concerns that Americans are increasingly likely to
purchase chicken contaminated with strains of salmonella or
campylobacter bacteria that are resistant to one or more antibiotics
often used to treat people. 

"It is no small problem that bacteria on meat are getting more and more
resistant to antibiotics," said Dr. David Wallinga, an IATP scientist
and co-author of the Sierra Club/ITAP study. 
"Common, brand name poultry products routinely carry at least one
disease causing germ if not more, and these bacteria are often resistant
to one or more antibiotics. The resistance we found is for many of the
same medicines that doctors rely on for treating people sick with
infections," Dr. Wallinga said. 

Salmonella and campylobacter bacteria can cause fever, diarrhea and
abdominal cramps. People who are infected with antibiotic resistant
bacteria are likely to be subjected to lengthier, more serious
illnesses. 

Poultry industry representatives called the studies "unduly alarming to
consumers" and countered that antibiotic resistance is more likely the
result of over prescription by doctors. 

In addition, U.S poultry has less bacteria now than ever before,
according to industry sources. 

"The potential risk of antibiotic resistant pathogens transferring from
animals to humans via the food supply is growing smaller all the time,"
according to a joint statement from several poultry industry groups. 

No one argues that salmonella and campylobacter bacteria pose a health
risk to consumers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
estimates that together they account for some 3.3 million food borne
infections and more than 650 deaths each year. 
Some 1.1 million Americans, according to the CDC, are sickened each year
by undercooked chicken that harbor bacteria or by food that raw chicken
juices have touched. 

Poultry producers are doing everything they can to produce healthy
animals, and concern over antibiotic resistant bacteria are overblown,
according to Richard Lobb, spokesman for the National Chicken Council. 

"There is always going to be some risk of unwanted bacteria, whether it
is chicken, beef or cantaloupes," Lobb said. "There is one thing you can
do to eliminate that risk and that is to prepare and cook food
properly." 

The groups who reported the studies both called for increased consumer
vigilance in the handling and preparation of chicken. Still, they
believe the industry could do more to reduce the use of antibiotics in
raising poultry, especially antibiotics that are also used to treat
humans. 

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) estimates some 10.5 million
pounds of antibiotics are fed to American poultry each year, with some
21 percent virtually identical to the ones doctors use to treat sick
people. These include tetracyclines, erythromycin, penicillin,
bacitracin and virginiamycin. 

By contrast, UCS estimates all human antibiotic use is some three
million pounds per year. 

These two studies are some of the first to examine the presence of
antibiotic resistant bacteria in chicken. Consumer Reports investigators
found nearly half the 484 chickens they tested had either salmonella or
campylobacter bacteria. 

Some 90 percent of the campylobacter bacteria and 34 percent of the
salmonella bacteria showed some resistance to one or more antibiotics
often used to treat people. 

"The bacteria counts from our 1998 report to this have gone down," said
David Pittle, senior vice president of technology for Consumers Union,
which publishes Consumer Reports. "But this is the first data point
measuring the resistance to antibiotics, and it is a very uncomfortable
starting point." 

"You need swallow just 15 to 20 salmonella bacteria or about 500
campylobacter bacteria to become ill," said Doug Podolsky, senior editor
of Consumer Reports. 

The 484 whole broiler chickens used in the Consumer Reports study were
purchased in 25 cities across the United States. 

Tests conducted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
and Sierra Club found 95 percent of the 200 chickens tested had
campylobacter bacteria, with 62 percent of the campylobacter resistant
to one or more antibiotics. 

The IATP/Sierra Club study was conducted on 200 fresh whole chickens and
200 packages of ground turkey purchased from grocery stores in Des
Moines, Iowa and Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota. Salmonella bacteria
were found in 18 percent of the whole chickens and 45 percent of the
ground turkey samples. Of the salmonella bacteria found in ground
turkey, 62 percent were resistant to one or more antibiotics. 

Campylobacter bacteria were found in only two percent of the ground
turkey. Both campylobacter and salmonella bacteria were found in 23
percent of the chickens sampled. 

The subtherapeutic use of antibiotics, which is the use for purposes
other than treating disease, is a primary concern found by both studies.
Antibiotics are given to poultry to quicken growth and are also
administered as preventive measures to fight possible infection. 

This use is most prevalent on factory farms that have come to dominate
the U.S. poultry industry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) defines factory broiler poultry farms as those that contain at
least 100,000 broiler chickens or 55,000 turkeys. These factory farms
account for some 97 percent of U.S. sales of boiler chickens. 
"This sets the stage for the evolution of drug resistant microbes that
multiply around chicken coops," Podolsky said. "Bacteria that survive
drug treatment may eventually contaminate carcasses during slaughtering
and processing. If chicken isn't cooked thoroughly enough, they could
end up on your dinner plate and colonize your intestines." 

Consumers Union has called on the USDA to extend its food safety program
to test for campylobacter and has also suggested the ban of
subtherapeutic uses of medically important drugs in poultry and other
livestock, but the industry is not convinced this is such a good idea. 

"Banning the use of antibiotics for prevention and control, and to
improve intestinal health, is counterproductive to the objective of
maintaining flock health," Lobb said. "In Denmark, where low level
antibiotics have been banned, disease has increased and the use of
therapeutic medications has increased more than 90 percent," he said. 

The industry's subtherapeutic use of all antibiotics is down some 30
percent since 1996, Lobb added, and further regulations would jeopardize
the economics of the industry. 

Egg laying hens are packed into battery cages which are lined up in rows
in huge factory warehouses. (Photo courtesy Farm Sanctuary)
Still, Pittle and others expect Congress to look at both subtherapeutic
use and at a possible phaseout of the industry's use of antibiotics that
are also used to treat people. 
The American Medical Association supports the phaseout. Some poultry
manufacturers have already begun to change their ways, according to
Margaret Mellon, director of UCS' Food and Environment Program. 

"It doesn't take rocket science to create the healthy, non stressful
conditions that make it possible to avoid the use of antibiotics," said
Mellon. "The European Union has now banned use of all antibiotics used
as growth promoters, and some mainstream U.S. poultry producers are
pulling back from the use of medically important antibiotics for
subtherapeutic uses." 

Four of the five largest producers have stopped use of any Cipro-like
antibiotics, and a host of fast food retailers, including McDonald's,
Popeye's and Wendy's, have publicly committed to purchase poultry only
produced without these Cipro-like antibiotics. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates some 150,000 Americans
in 1999 developed a Cipro-resistant campylobacter infection from
contaminated chicken. 

"We don't need to use these enormous quantities of drugs to produce
affordable, safe meat," Mellon said. "All we need to do is persuade our
poultry producers to throw away their drug crutches and move on to new,
better managed systems that don't depend on the use of excessive
antibiotics." 

The Consumer Reports article and report can be found at:
www.consumerreports.org 
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself, courtesy of Consumer Reports: 

Make chicken one of the last items you buy before heading to the
checkout line. 

Pick chicken that is well wrapped and at the bottom of the case, where
the temperature should be coolest. Sell-by dates are not a perfect
indicator of freshness. We found a few spoiled chickens with sell-by
dates as far away as four to six days. If you can find a chicken with a
sell-by date seven or more days away, buy it. 

Place chicken in a plastic bag like those in the produce department, to
keep its juices from leaking. 

If you'll be cooking the chicken within a couple of days, store it at
below 40' F. Otherwise, freeze it. 

Thaw frozen chicken in a refrigerator or microwave oven, never on a
counter. Leave it in its packaging and put it on a plate, so juices
can't drip. 

Separate raw chicken from other foods. Immediately after preparation,
use hot, soapy water and paper towels to wash and dry your hands and
anything you or raw chicken might have touched. 

Cook chicken thoroughly to kill harmful bacteria. Whole chicken should
be heated to 180 degrees F, breasts to 170 degrees. Use a thermometer;
chicken that is no longer pink can still harbor bacteria. 

Don't return cooked meat to the plate that held it raw. And don't use a
sauce in which raw chicken has been marinating unless it has been
brought to a rolling boil for at least a minute. 

Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours of cooking. 