Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria More Common on Conventional Ground Turkey Than Organic

By A Press Release From Consumers Union
Published on June 18, 2013
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Bacteria on ground turkey products labeled “no antibiotics,” “organic,” or “raised without antibiotics” were resistant to fewer antibiotics overall than bacteria found on conventional products.

A press release fromConsumers Union.

In its first-ever lab analysis of ground turkey products, Consumer Reports found potential disease-causing organisms in most of the samples it tested, many of which proved resistant to more than three antibiotic drug classes. Consumer Reports tested 257 samples purchased from stores nationwide.

“Our findings strongly suggest that there is a direct relationship between the routine use of antibiotics in animal production and increased antibiotic resistance in bacteria on ground turkey. It’s very concerning that antibiotics fed to turkeys are creating resistance to antibiotics used in human medicine,” said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of the Food Safety and Sustainability Group at Consumer Reports.  “Humans don’t consume antibiotics every day to prevent disease and neither should healthy animals.  Prudent use of antibiotics should be required to stem the public health crisis generated from the reduced effectiveness of antibiotics.”

The complete report and analysis can be found in the June 2013 issue of Consumer Reports and online at www.ConsumerReports.org.

Consumer Reports Findings

Consumer Reports purchased 257 samples of raw ground turkey meat and patties, including products from major retailers and store brands, and tested them for the presence of five bacteria: enterococcus, Escherichia coli (E. coli), staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, and campylobacter.  Below are some key findings. Additional data will be available at www.ConsumerReports.org.

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