Consumer Reports Finds Salmonella, Campylobacter in Most Chickens
Consumer Reports magazine has completed its second testing of store-bought raw chicken since 2007, finding only slight improvement in the percentage of fresh whole broilers contaminated with Salmonella and/or Campylobacter.
These two pathogens are the leading bacterial causes of foodborne illness in the U.S., causing 3.4 million infections, sending 25,500 to the hospital and killing 500 people a year.
According to the latest chicken test, two-thirds of the birds tested positive for Salmonella and/or Campylobacter. That compares to eight of 10 birds found contaminated in the organization's 2007 research but is still far too high by any decent food safety measure.
The bacteria commonly grows in the intestines of chickens without harming them. But when droppings from their environments attaches to the exteriors of the animals, it flakes off onto meat during processing.
Here's a summary of other findings, which Consumer Reports released via press release. Full results can be seen online at the Consumer Reports website:
- Campylobacter was in 62 percent of the chickens, Salmonella was in 14 percent, and both bacteria were in 9 percent.
- Only 34 percent of the birds were clear of both pathogens. That's double the percentage of clean birds we found in our 2007 report but far less than the 51 percent in our 2003 report.
- Among the cleanest overall were air-chilled broilers. About 40 percent harbored one or both pathogens. Eight Bell & Evans organic broilers, which are air chilled, were free of both, but our sample was too small to determine that all Bell & Evans broilers would be.
- Store-brand organic chickens had no Salmonella at all, showing that it's possible for chicken to arrive in stores without that bacterium riding along. But as our tests showed, banishing one bug doesn't mean banishing both: 57 percent of those birds harbored Campylobacter.
- The cleanest name-brand chickens were Perdue's: 56 percent were free of both pathogens. This is the first time since we began testing chicken that one major brand has fared significantly better than others across the board.
- Most contaminated were Tyson and Foster Farms chickens. More than 80 percent tested positive for one or both pathogens.
- Among all brands and types of broilers tested, 68 percent of the salmonella and 60 percent of the Campylobacter organisms we analyzed showed resistance to one or more antibiotics.
