Potentially deadly drug-resistant “superbugs” were found in almost half of the supermarket meat samples analyzed by scientists.
Multidrug-resistant E. coli was present in 40 percent of chicken, turkey, beef and pork sold in Spain.
E. coli strains, which can cause serious infections in humans, are also “very common.”
Scientists say antibiotic resistance is reaching ‘dangerously high’ levels worldwide.
Drug-resistant infections kill an estimated 700,000 people worldwide each year, and the number is expected to rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken.
About half of the meat in the supermarket contained resistant bacteria, including E. coli (file photo)
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers antibiotic resistance to be one of the greatest threats to human public health.
Multidrug-resistant bacteria can spread through the food chain from animals to humans, but due to commercial sensitivities, data on the levels of antibiotic-resistant insects in food is not widely available.
Spanish scientists designed a series of experiments to accurately measure levels of multi-drug-resistant and extra-intestinal pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae – Klebsiella pneumoniae, E. coli and other bacteria that can cause multi-drug-resistant infections such as sepsis or urinary tract infections (UTIs) to determine. to sell meat.
They randomly selected 100 meat products – 25 each of chicken, turkey, beef and pork – from supermarkets in Oviedo in 2020.
The majority of meat products (73 percent) contained levels of E. coli that were within food safety limits.
However, nearly half (49 percent) contained multidrug-resistant and/or potentially pathogenic E. coli. From this, 82 E. coli isolates were obtained and characterized.
In addition, about ten K. pneumoniae isolates were found in 10 of the 100 meat products, of which seven were chicken.
40 out of 100 meat products contain multi-resistant E. coli. Positive samples for the carrier of ESBL-producing E. coli were highest in turkeys (68 percent) and chickens (56 percent).
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The researchers said the higher presence of ESBL-producing E. coli strains in poultry compared to other meats is likely due to differences in production and slaughter.
More than a quarter of the meat products (27 percent) contained potentially pathogenic extra-intestinal E. coli (ExPEC).
The researchers explained that ExPEC possess genes that enable them to cause disease outside the digestive tract.
Dr. Azucena Mora Gutiérrez said that ExPEC causes the vast majority of urinary tract infections (UTIs), a leading cause of sepsis and the second leading cause of neonatal meningitis.
And one of the meat products contained E. coli with the mcr-1 gene that confers resistance to colistin, a last-line antibiotic used to treat infections caused by bacteria resistant to all other antibiotics.
The research team, which in a previous study reported high levels of bacteria that could potentially cause serious human infections in chickens and turkeys, say the new results show shoppers can also be exposed to such bacteria through beef and pork.
They called for regular assessments of levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including ExPEC E. coli, in meat products.
Dr. Mora from the University of Santiago de Compostela said: “Farm to fork interventions must be a priority to protect consumers.
“For example, the implementation of surveillance laboratory methods to enable further research and development of high-risk bacteria in farm animals and meat due to the recent EU restrictions on the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine.
“Farm-level strategies, such as vaccines, to reduce the presence of specific multidrug-resistant and pathogenic bacteria in food-producing animals will reduce meat transport and risk to consumers.”
She added: “Consumers play a key role in food safety through proper food handling.
“Advice to consumers includes not breaking the cold chain from the supermarket to the home, cooking meat thoroughly, refrigerating it properly and using knives, cutting boards and other cookware used for the proper handling of raw meat.
“With these measures, eating meat becomes a pleasure and a zero risk.”
The results will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Denmark.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
