EWG Report Focuses on “Superbugs in Supermarkets”

According to an Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis, more than one-half of meat and poultry samples tested in 2011 contained antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Using findings from the federal government’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, the report asserts that “store-bought meat tested in 2011 contained antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 81 percent of raw ground turkey, 69 percent of raw pork chops, 55 percent of raw ground beef and 39 percent of raw chicken parts.”

“Consumers should be very concerned that antibiotic-resistant bacteria
are now common in the meat aisles of most American supermarkets,” said
EWG nutritionist Dawn Undurraga. “These organisms can cause foodborne
illnesses and other infections. Worse, they spread antibiotic-resistance, which
threatens to bring on a post-antibiotic era where important medicines critical
to treating people could become ineffective.” See EWG News Release, April 15,
2013.