October 1, 2013

Researchers found drug-resistant bacteria in 12 of 20 fresh chicken legs in German shops bought either on or shortly before their use-by date.

This is according to a report from consumer watchdog Stiftung Warentest.

Five of the samples were found to have "superbug" Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, the most well-known drug-resistant pathogen. Although MRSA is not dangerous to healthy people, it can be deadly - and almost untreatable in the chronically ill or those who have recently undergone operation.

The study was reported in the October issue of the organisation's magazine. Drug-resistant bacteria in meat are the result of farmers routinely using antibiotics when raising animals, the magazine said.

The study also found levels of other germs which exceeded guidelines set by the German society for hygiene and microbiology. This included both pseudomonades (bacteria which cause food to spoil) and enterobacteria (a family of bacteria including many of the pathogens which cause common illnesses, such as salmonella and e. coli).

All five of the organic products in the test contained high levels of harmful bacteria (the best of the five only gained a mark of "satisfactory"), though none contained drug-resistant bacteria, probably due to the strictly limited use of antibiotics in organic farming.

The report advised that extreme care be taken when storing and preparing raw chicken. "These contaminants will never fully be removed from poultry", the newspaper said, but "consumers should always be careful about hygiene" when dealing with it.

The report offered readers some hygiene tips. The meat should be well refrigerated and used as soon as possible. People are advised to cook poultry thoroughly and at high enough temperatures. They should wash their hands before and after handling it, as well as scrubbing all knives and chopping boards after use.