NYT -Of Whole Broilers Tested Nationwide, 62% Had Campylobacter, 14% Salmonella, 9% Had Both

[hatrack]

A new study by Consumer Reports has found that two out of three whole broiler chickens are contaminated with illness-inducing bacteria, while certain types of organic chicken posed the lowest risk.

The researchers studied 382 whole broilers bought from more than 100 stores in 22 states and found salmonella or campylobacter bacteria on two-thirds of the birds tested. The research suggests that current safety and hygiene practices among poultry producers and handlers are inadequate and that consumers need to be vigilant at both the grocery store and at home to cook chicken well and prevent cross-contamination of countertops, hands and other foods.

Both types of bacteria are among the leading causes of food-borne illness in the United States, infecting at least 3.4 million Americans annually and sending 25,500 to hospitals. Every year about 550 people die from food-borne salmonella infections, and about 100 die after contracting campylobacter from food, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although a few products, including Perdue-brand broilers and organic air-chilled chickens, were the safest, the magazine called chicken suppliers “a very dirty industry that needs better practices and tighter government oversight.”

Over all, campylobacter was detected in 62 percent of the chickens, while salmonella was in 14 percent. Nine percent of the birds contained both pathogens. Based on the study, a consumer has a one in three chance of buying a broiler free of both pathogens.

EDIT

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/how-safe-is-your-chicken-dinner/

[Warpy]

1. Chicken is a dirty birdie

especially when raised under factory conditions.

Just wash your hands, the cutting board and the knife after you handle it raw and cook it completely.

Most of the bugs that make us sick are killed by proper cooking.

[unpossibles]

2. chicken is what originally made me give up meat, actually

Not because of any ethical or moral decision, but simply because I handled it a lot every day at work, and it started grossing me out a lot. I don't miss it at all, and it's been a couple of decades. Don't take this the wrong way: eat what you want to, but... no thanks.

[Systematic Chaos]

3. I've gone vegan for all kinds of reasons, so I understand perfectly.

I have the obesity and health issues which mandate it, as well as the environmental concerns and understanding of all the horrible risks involved with factory-produced meats.

It just ain't worth it.

[unpossibles]

5. good call. I'm not vegan, but I don't eat a lot of dairy honestly

And as you say, those other reasons - more intellectual than visceral - are sometimes what make me continue on this path, but they are not what really made me quit.

[Warpy]

7. Quorn products kill that fried chicken Jones

and I don't get one all that often. I actually prefer the Quorn products to the real thing. Even organically grown chicken seems to have an off flavor these days.

The only flesh foods I still eat are seafoods, and not much of those.

[kestrel91316]

4. Which is why it is important to handle and cook poultry properly.

All those nasties die with proper cooking. What amazes me is that, with that level of contamination, we don't have MORE food poisoning from poultry.

I'm not afraid to buy and eat it. I just handle carefully and cook thoroughly. As someone with a microbiology and veterinary background, I understand that I have no earthly reason to expect that meat OR PRODUCE, as fresh biological products with limited shelf life, be sterile.

That said, slaughter and processing facilities need much closer supervision to ensure that laws already on the books are actually complied with to minimize contamination with pathogens.

[IrateCitizen]

6. I don't really worry too much about this

Then again, all the chicken we eat comes from one of the vendors at our farmers' market, and all of their birds are completely pasture raised in non-factory conditions.

How do I know they are pasture raised besides my farmer's good word? Taste. If you ever try a REAL free-range bird, you'll never go back. The only way I think I could improve on the process would be to raise my own.

[pscot]

8. Bahnhof Chicken Syndrome

I once bought a chicken in the Munich train station, and spent a miserable 24 hours on trains, planes and automobiles, praying for death. Took a week to recover. Salmonella was a national health scandal in Germany at the time.

[Nihil]

9. Good job that they didn't test any cattle isn't it?

The lobbyists would have sued them.