Chicken Harbours Superbugs

[farmers_son]

The following CBC news item is most interesting.

What do you think? Does this kind of negative press for chicken encourage consumers to purchase more beef? Or will it cause consumers to lose confidence in all their meat purchases. Does this provide beef an opportunity to position itself as a more healthy food choice? Or will it lead to government crack downs on all uses of antibiotics for animal production.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2011/02/10/cons-supermarket-superbugs.html

Supermarket chicken harbours superbugs: CBC
Last Updated: Thursday, February 10, 2011 | 9:54 PM ET .CBC News
All of the bacteria uncovered during the Marketplace sampling of chicken were resistant to at least one type of antibiotic. Some of the bacteria found were resistant to six, seven or even eight types. (File/Nati Harnik/Associated Press)
Chicken bought at major supermarkets across Canada is frequently contaminated with superbugs — bacteria that many antibiotics cannot kill — an investigation by CBC TV's Marketplace has found.

Marketplace researchers — along with their colleagues at Radio-Canada's food show L'Epicerie — bought 100 samples of chicken from major grocery chains in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

The chicken included some of the most familiar label names in the poultry business.

The 100 samples were sent to a lab for analysis. Two-thirds of the chicken samples had bacteria. That in itself is not unusual — E. coli, salmonella and campylobacter are often present in raw chicken.

What was surprising was that all of the bacteria uncovered during the Marketplace sampling were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Some of the bacteria found were resistant to six, seven or even eight different types of antibiotics.

"This is the most worrisome study I've seen of its kind," said Rick Smith, the head of Environmental Defence, a consumer advocacy group.

Resistance grows
The sampling results revealed that common illness-causing bacteria had turned into superbugs that are increasingly resistant to the usual treatment protocols.

How did these bacteria become superbugs? Doctors and scientists told Marketplace co-host Erica Johnson that chicken farmers are overusing antibiotics — routinely giving healthy flocks doses of amoxicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin and ceftiofur to prevent disease and to make the chickens grow bigger, faster.

A representative of the Chicken Farmers of Canada group denied that antibiotics are being overused. "I think there's judicious use that is going on," said Mike Dungate.

But it isn't clear what the industry means by "judicious use." The industry won't say how much antibiotic use is occurring, saying it doesn't keep track. The federal government doesn't track antibiotic use by farmers, and, unlike in Europe, there are no limits on the use of antibiotics in the feed and water given to chickens.

While thorough cooking kills bacteria — including superbugs — most contamination happens before the chicken is cooked through improper handling. If there's contamination by superbugs, the worry is that consumers could ingest illness-causing bugs that are then resistant to much of the available spectrum of traditional antibiotic therapy.

For Canadians who think they're safe by purchasing organic chicken or buying chicken raised without the use of antibiotics, Marketplace turned up results in its sampling that might surprise those consumers, too.

The full Marketplace investigation can be seen Friday night on CBC TV at 8 p.m., 8:30 p.m. in Newfoundland.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2011/02/10/cons-supermarket-superbugs.html#ixzz1DfNdXaXp

[grassfarmer]

I don't think people will change from eating chicken to eating beef. Chicken is established in the market as a different product at a different price and I don't think people are all that likely to switch back and forth.
It will likely turn some consumers off eating factory chicken for a while and start them looking for alternate sources. Too many ecoli recalls in the beef world to come out as a shining healthy alternative. Although again the demand for hormone free, natural and grass-fed beef continues to grow.
I think it will lead to stricter regulation on anti-biotic use and I'm all for that. Far too much drug usage in food production which is leading to drug resistance in humans.

[per]

One thing the investigation failed to address was the role that processing may or may not have played. The fact that the organic chicken had fewer bugs, but did have bugs, could be related to the processing facility and procedures. Organic packing usually takes place in a slower more stringent environment because it is a supposed to be a higher end (certainly more expensive)product so therefore more care at the slaughter could result in less contamination during plucking and processing. I am not saying this is or isn't the cause of the bacteria just that it was not addressed in the show. The good part might be that exposure tends to create resistance. Good thing too or there would be a great deal of sick folks out there.

[per]

It is said that is why Cowboys eat eggs. It keeps one more chicken from being born.

[kato]

Hey there... I've got some chickens. LOL

I raised and sold some meat birds last summer, and will gladly go on record that they did not need any antibiotics at all. The only medication they got was some Amprol for coccidiosis prevention. My twenty layers don't get any antibiotics for anything. They don't need them because they don't live piled on top of each other.

That being said, I expect that their brothers who would have gone to high volume grower operations had their fair share. It's not so much the chickens as it is the environment they're raised in. We had a local hatchery that supplied some large intensive barns, and if you bought chicks from them you needed amoxicillin, no less to keep them alive. Otherwise over half would die in the first two weeks. The problems came from yolk sac infections picked up at the laying flock. We get our chicks from a different hatchery and it's a whole different story.
I bet that if low grade feed type antibiotics were suddenly banned in intensive livestock operations, there would be a heck of a mess.

As for a backlash, if there would be one, it would more likely be against the factory farms, not the chicken, but it would also only be from a few people who gave the whole situation some thought, and even had a clue about how they were raised. Most people just care what it costs in the store. As long as that's the priority, things won't change.

[ALLFARMER]

Good points PER

[wilagro]

While the discussion is about chickens and superbugs...how about the cattle producer such as one of my neighbours who routinely doubles the suggested dosage of antibiotics suggested because he figures that it "won't hurt" to be on the safe side. I'm sure that he also hates to waste time doing repeat treatments as he has so many irons in the fire that keep him busy.

I hope he is the exception or Alberta beef could be cited in the future for 'superbugs' brought on from too much antibiotic usage in the cattle industry.

I would presume though that the feedlot operator would be more prone to use antibiotics excessively because of the conditions that exist on many of them. When I see videos of feedlot cattle wallowing in mud up their bellies it really tees me off. I believe that there should be more regulation in that regard.