Drug-resistant bacteria on poultry differs by brand
US - The presence of drug-resistant, pathogenic bacteria on uncooked poultry products varies by commercial brand and is likely related to antibiotic use in production, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.Their study is the first to directly compare bacterial contamination of poultry products sold in US supermarkets from food producers who use antibiotics and from those who claim they do not.
The study focused on antibiotic resistance, specifically fluoroquinolone-resistance in Campylobacter, a pathogen responsible for 2.4 million cases of food-borne illness per year in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and was published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
“Our use of medically important classes of antibiotics in food-animal production creates a significant public health concern,” said the study’s lead author Lance Price, a doctoral candidate and fellow at the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future.
Source: FoodQualityNews.com
18 March 2005
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