Nearly Half of U.S. Meat Tainted With Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Here’s something to think about the next time you stop by the meat counter at your local grocery store – there may be drug-resistant strains of bacteria lurking in that steak or chicken. A study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, found that Staphylococcus aureus – a bacteria that causes most staph infections including skin infections, pneumonia and blood poisoning – are present in meat and poultry from U.S. grocery stores at "unexpectedly high rates." Researchers found nearly half of the meat and poultry samples — 47 percent — were contaminated with S. aureus, and more than half of those bacteria — 52 percent — were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics. For the study, researchers looked at 136 samples involving 80 brands of beef, chicken, pork and turkey from 26 grocery stores in five cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Flagstaff and Washington, D.C. Experts say although Staph can be killed with proper cooking, it still may pose a risk to people who handle food improperly, and cross-contamination in the kitchen.