December 2, 2009

According to Consumer Reports' latest test of fresh, whole broilers bought in 22 US states, it has revealed that two-thirds of birds tested harboured salmonella and/or campylobacter, the leading bacterial causes of food-borne disease.

The findings suggest that most companies' safeguards are insufficient. Consumer Reports also found that most disease-causing bacteria sampled from the contaminated chicken were resistant to at least one antibiotic, potentially making any resulting illness more difficult to treat.

Consumer Reports had an outside lab test 382 chickens bought last spring from more than 100 supermarkets, gourmet- and natural-food stores, and mass merchandisers in 22 states. Among the findings:

- Campylobacter was in 62 percent of the chickens, salmonella was in 14 percent, and both bacteria were in 9 percent. Only 34 percent of the birds were clear of both pathogens, which is double the percentage of clean birds Consumer Reports found in its 2007 report but far less than the 51 percent in 2003.

- Among the cleanest overall were organic "air-chilled" broilers (a process in which carcasses are refrigerated and may be misted, rather than dunked in cold chlorinated water). About 60 percent were free of the two pathogens.

- Perdue was found to be the cleanest of the brand-name chicken: 56 percent were free of both pathogens. This is the first time since Consumer Reports began testing chicken that one major brand has fared significantly better than others across the board.

- Tyson and Foster Farms chickens were found to be the most contaminated; less than 20 percent were free of either pathogen.

- Store-brand organic chickens had no salmonella at all, but only 43 percent of those birds were also free of campylobacter.

- Among all brands and types of broilers tested, 68 percent of the salmonella and 60 percent of the campylobacter organisms analysed showed resistance to one ore more antibiotics. All of the antibiotics were effective against 32 percent of salmonella samples and 40 percent of the campylobacter samples, as compared to just 16 percent and 33 percent in 2007.

Although Perdue chickens were cleaner than other big brands in the tests, and most "air-chilled" organic birds were especially clean, Consumer Reports' tests are a snapshot in time and no type has been consistently low enough in pathogens to recommend over all others. Buying cleaner chicken may improve consumers' odds if they fail to prepare chicken carefully, it reports.