December 6, 2006

 

USDA refutes studies showing US chickens unsafe

 

 

The USDA has labeled a report saying that 83 percent of chicken sold in US grocery stores contain illness-causing bacteria as "junk science". 

 

The study, carried out by Consumer Reports had said that the current percentage was 34 percentage point higher than 3 years ago.

 

Other critics had dismissed the relevance of the report due to its small sample size.

 

Consumer Reports said tests on 525 chickens including samples from leading brands Perdue, Pilgrim's Pride

 Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc, showed most of the poultry had campylobacter or salmonella, two of the leading causes of food-borne diseases.

 

Jane Halloran, a policy director for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports said it was a very significant deterioration in food safety.

 

Certain types of bacteria were partial to chickens from certain companies.

 

Tyson had the lowest salmonella level and the highest rate of campylobacter while Perdue had the fewest samples with campylobacter, but the most cases of salmonella.

 

A USDA spokesman also said the methodology used was questionable. The report did not go back to all the stores used in the 2003 report and failed to mention the type of salmonella found. One common strain, Salmonella Kentucky, is harmless to humans.

 

The study said the decline in chicken safety was tied largely to a surge in the campylobacter bacteria, which can be carried by birds, but causes diarrhea in people.

 

About 81 percent of the chickens tested positive for the pathogen, up from 42 percent in 2003.

 

Salmonella, which causes diarrhea, headache and fever, is one of the most frequently reported causes of food-borne illness in the United States. Consumer Reports estimated 15 percent of the chickens tested had salmonella.

 

According to the USDA's studies, 11.4 percent of 8,000 broiler samples through September of this year tested positive for salmonella, which would be down from the 16.3 percent in 2005.

 

The department has not carried out a national study for campylobacter in broilers, but plans to begin conducting one in late January.

 

The National Chicken Council said the report contained nothing new and "greatly exaggerated" the rate of bacteria in raw chicken.

 

The report said what every cook already knew, that fresh poultry carry bacteria and should be properly handled and cooked, said spokesman Richard Lobb.