Bacteria Exposed in the Jan. 2007 Consumer Reports’ “Dirty Chickens”

“The most common sources of both of these organisms is chicken flesh.”

(The report can be read at www.upc-online.org/health/120706consumerreports.html)

Tests on 525 chickens purchased from supermarkets, gourmet shops and natural food stores in 23 states found 83% of chickens tested contained Campylobacter and Salmonella food poisoning bacteria – a substantial increase from their 2003 study showing 49% of chickens tested to be contaminated with these pathogens. In addition, 84% of the Salmonella and 67% of the Campylobacter bacteria analyzed showed resistance to antibiotics. Consumer Reports calls its findings “the largest national analysis of contamination and antibiotic resistance in store-bought chicken ever published.”

A Perdue Farms spokesman cited in WATT Poultry USA, July 2006, “postulates 100 percent prevalence” of Salmonella on birds entering the slaughter plants from the chicken houses where 30,000 birds per house are raised in environments as filthy as unflushed toilets.

Health officials say Salmonella infects 1.4 million people in the U.S. each year, hospitalizing 40,000 and killing 1,000. Campylobacteriosis, the most common foodborne illness in the U.S., is said to infect 2.4 million people, hospitalizing 10,000 and killing 100 each year. Since a lot of people never report the nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, chills, weakness, and exhaustion many call “stomach flu” and take for granted as normal without even realizing they have food poisoning, the number of people sickened by chicken and turkey flesh could be significantly higher.

Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria don’t always just “go away.” They can migrate from the intestines to cause other seemingly unrelated illnesses including chronic joint diseases such as arthritis. The U.S. Agricultural Research Service says these bacteria can lead to “inflammation of an organ or joint that is far removed from the site of infection.”

• Try MorningStar Farms Meal Starters Chik‘N’Strips. They’re in most grocery stores, taste great, and won’t poison you or your family.
• Order & distribute UPC’s fact sheet “Chicken For Dinner: It’s Enough To Make You Sick.” 20 for $3. Or read it at www.upc-online.org/spring98/chicken_for_dinner.html.