Most Ground Turkey Contains Fecal Bacteria; Consumer Reports Finds Illness Causing Bacteria In US Ground Turkey

Consumer Reports released a lab analysis of several packages of ground turkey bought at retail stores nationwide. They found that more than half of the packages of raw meat and patties tested positive for fecal bacteria. Consumer Reports also found “some samples harbored other germs, including salmonella and staphylococcus aureus, two of the leading causes of foodborne illness in the U.S.”

What is even more alarming is the majority of bacteria found in the samples were resistant to more than one antibiotic used to fight those strains. This finding is important, because treating an infection by one of those strains becomes much harder, requiring use of multiple antibiotics. Consumer Reports’ findings showed “three samples contaminated with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus [MRSA], which can cause fatal infections.”

Other findings showed by Consumer Reports found that “ground turkey labeled ‘no antibiotics,’ ‘organic’ or ‘raised without antibiotics’ was as likely to harbor bacteria as products without those claims.”

However, the bacteria found in those products were less likely to be resistant to antibiotic treatment. Consumer Reports suggests proper food handling procedures and purchasing “organic” and “no antibiotic” labeled meats when consuming ground turkey to avoid contamination.