Andrew Perry
Exam 1 Essay
9/21/2015
The safety of meat and poultry is a topic that has been debated for a number of years. Contamination is especially a concern when raising cattle and turkey for food. A recent article from DiGregorio (2013) highlights a debate over the safety of ground turkey sold in U.S. supermarkets. According to the Consumer’s Union in the article, a large percentage of ground turkey was found to be contaminated with fecal-associated bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Enterococcus, along with other types of pathogens, such as Salmonella and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (DiGregorio 2013).
Some of the bacteria found in the turkey were also found to be resistant to a number of antibiotics (DiGregorio
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2013). The National Turkey Federation in the article challenges many of the findings stating that the two most common pathogens found on the turkey, E. coli and Enterococcus, are not considered significant causes of food-related illness (DiGregorio 2013). After examining the article, I agree with the Consumer’s Union that the meat is not safe for consumption and that steps should be taken to make it safer due to the environment that animals, such as turkeys, are raised in and the use of antibiotics in raising animals. Conventionally raised turkeys are typically bred to grow faster than wild turkeys and are crowded into facilities with poor ventilation and sanitation (www.farmsanctuary.org). Many facilities crowd turkeys so that there may be as little as 2.5-4 square feet of space between each bird, which further increases meat contamination (www.farmsanctuary.org). Turkeys often die before reaching slaughterhouses due to poor transport as well (www.farmsanctuary.org). Turkeys being raised in poor conditions results in poor health for the birds, which in turn produces low quality meat. Another concern regarding meat safety is the use of antibiotics in raising animals. Studies involving the use of antibiotics in agriculture include one conducted by Waters et al. (2011). In this study, the authors examined the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and the antibiotic susceptibility profiles in samples of conventionally raised meat and poultry (Waters et al. 2011). Samples of meat that were included in the study were retail ground beef, chicken, pork, and turkey (Waters et al. 2011). Samples were observed in five different U.S cities (Waters et al. 2011). According to the authors’ results, S. aureus was found to be most prevalent in the turkey samples at 77% (Waters et al. 2011). Pork was the next common meat to contain S. aureus with 42% of the samples containing the pathogen (Waters et al. 2011). S. aureus was least commonly found in the chicken and beef samples at 41% and 37% respectively (Waters et al. 2011). The authors found that at 96% of the strains of S.
aureus from the meat samples were resistant to at least one antibiotic (Waters et al. 2011). Fifty-two percent of the strains were found to be multi-drug resistant, meaning they were resistant to three or more antibiotics (Waters et al. 2011). These types of strains were most commonly found in the turkey samples with 79% of the samples containing the pathogen (Waters et al. 2011). The findings of the authors’ study demonstrate the concern over the use of antibiotics in raising meat and measures should be taken in order to reduce meat contamination and improve the health of the …show more content…
animals. Different methods exist in order to improve meat safety. One study by Wang et al. (2009) examined the effect that a free-range environment has on different traits of chickens, such as growth performance, carcass yield, and the quality of meat. According to the results of the authors’ study, chickens raised in a free-range environment without any confinement were found to have reduced growth performance, abdominal fat, and tibia strength (Wang et al. 2009). However, the carcass yield and meat quality were not significantly effected (Wang et al. 2009). A free-range environment, rather than a confined environment, may help to decrease the stress of animals and improve animal health (Wang et al. 2009). Another study done by Campbell et al.
(1981) examines the incidence of Salmonella contamination in turkeys that are raised in Salmonella controlled environments and in conventional environments in order to reduce contamination. According to the authors’ conclusion, it is possible to identify flocks of turkeys that are heavily contaminated with Salmonella and schedule the flocks for later slaughter in order to reduce cross-contamination with other flocks (Campbell et al. 1981). Likewise, flocks with little to no contamination may be scheduled for earlier slaughter in order to reduce contamination (Campbell et al.
1981). Meat and poultry safety and quality continues to be an issue even today. Many samples of meat are found to be contaminated with different pathogens with a large number of the strains being resistant to one or more antibiotics. Steps should be taken in order to improve the safety of the meat. References Campbell DF, Green SS, Custer CS, Johnston RW. 1981. Incidence of Salmonella in Fresh Dressed Turkeys Raised Under Salmonella-Controlled and Uncontrolled Environments. Poultry Science; 61(10): 1962-1967. DiGregorio BE. 2013. Dispute Flares over Bacteria in Packaged Ground Turkey. Microbe; 8(8). Turkey Production on Factory Farms [Internet]. Watkins Glen (NY): Farm Sanctuary (US); [updated 2005 Sep 8; Cited 2015 Sep 20]. Available from: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/turkeys-used-for-meat/ Wang KH, Shi SR, Dou TC, Sun HJ. 2009. Effect of a free-range raising system on growth performance, carcass yield, and meat quality of slow-growing chicken. Poultry Science; 88(10): 2219-2223. Waters AE, Contente-Cuomo T, Buchhagen J, Liu CM, Watson L, Pearce K, Foster JT, Bowers J, Driebe EM, Engelthaler DM, Keim PS, Price LB. 2011. Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in US Meat and Poultry. Clinical Infectious Diseases Advance Access; 15 April, 2011.
Reducing the risk of salmonellosis from these farms would include food safety practices such as: washing eggs and hands thoroughly, making sure that the farm is kept in good condition, feeding the chickens good food, and using fresh water
Nestle, Marion. Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
Many say that history repeats itself, and throughout history, the spread of food-borne diseases has been constantly threatening humans. Salmonella, a disease which attacks numerous people a year, has returned, infected, and put people under panic of what they are eating. According to Foodborne Diseases, it is stated that “Salmonella comprises a large and diverse group of Gram-negative rods. Salmonellae are ubiquitous and have been recovered from some insects and nearly all vertebrate species, especially humans, livestock, and companion animals” (Gray and Fedorka-Cray 55). Because of the flexibility and the ability to reproduce rapidly, this infamous disease still remains as one of the most common threats in our society as well as an unconquerable problem that humans face these days.
Wash kitchen work surfaces and utensils with soap and water immediately after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry. The client must understand that uncooked meat and poultry should be kept separate from produce, cooked foods and ready to eat foods. People with salmonellosis should not prepare food or pour water for others until their diarrhea has been resolved too.
Meat cultivation uses more land, water and resources to house, transport, and slaughter animals and their grain and food than it would cost to fund in vitro meat studies. In April 2008 the In Vitro Consortium first met at the Norwegian Food Research Institute. The consortium is “an international alliance of environmentally concerned scientists striving to facilitate the establishment of a large scale process industry for the production of muscle tissue for human consumption through concerted R&D efforts and attraction of funding fuels to these efforts. ”Meat in both its production and its consumption has a number of destructive effects on not only the environment and humans but also live stock. Some of these effects are antibiotic resistant bacteria due to the overuse of antibiotics in livestock, meat-borne pathogens (e. coli), and diseases associated with diets rich in animal fats (diabetes).
The Perdue Farms is an American business corporation which has specialized in the processing of chicken as well as turkey together with pork products ("Perdue Farms Homepage : Company History, Corporate Responsibility and More", n.d.). Just as other production companies, this corporation is involved in practices that place the surrounding conditions at risk and hence it calls for correct precautionary activities which must be adopted as well as implemented to avoid potential risks to the environment. Processing of meat results to the release of harmful fatty substances together with other macrobiotic biodegradable substances that are much harmless but require to be monitored together with disposed of in an appropriate manner.
N., Mahmoud, I. Y., Al-Musharafi, S. K., & Sivakumar, N. (2014). Staphylococcus aureus contamination during food preparation, processing and handling. International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications, 5(5), 388–392. doi:10.7763/ijcea.2014.v5.415
Not only eating turkey could cause problems for the world, for your own health too.
The growth of microbiological organisms is highly affected by temperature. The microorganisms that may be present on meat products are mesophilic pathogens that grow at temperatures between 7 and 37°C (AFFCO, 2003). This growth range is referred to as the mesophile window, or the range where enteric pathogens are able to proliferate readily (AFFCO, 2003). Meat processing plants are therefore able to adequately control bacterial growth during the production process by regulating the product temperature. MPI imposes regulations for carcass and product cooling where all meat processors follow standard time/temperature regimes and/or meat Process Hygiene Index (NZFSA, 2004). The standard time/temperature regimes were derived from good manufacturing practice, which have been shown to produce microbiologically safe products. At AFFCO Horotiu, a preservation programme is in place where cooling of carcasses and product immediately after slaughter has been reduced to 7°C in order to meet compliance with industry standards.
Isolation and identification of E. coli and S. aureus from poultry meat in different slaughtering house of Namakkal district
Food safety is an increasingly important public health issue. Governments all over the world are intensifying their efforts to improve food safety. Food borne illnesses are diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion of food. “In industrialized countries, the percentage of people suffering from food borne diseases each year has been reported to be up to 30%. In the United States of America, for example, around 76 million cases of food borne diseases, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, are estimated to occur each year.” (Geneva 2)
To begin with, raising livestock and producing meat is greatly contributing to contamination of the world. The population of the world is growing, and it is prompting an increase in livestock. Mor...
The main focus of the researches here is the agricultural sciences. At the first, my goal was to continue study antimicrobial compounds to use in animal health. However, due to cases of depression in my family, I would like to use my knowledge in Microbiology to study this.
"Bacteria is of concern with any food, as improper handling and storage can lead to the growth of these germs in food. Betsy Farms uses a unique process to reduce the risk of bacteria contamination. The poultry is cook at a temperature high enough to ensure the bacteria is eliminated. This is done before the poultry is pulverized and mixed with other ingredients. The finished product is then cooked againto assure product integrity," staff members
In 2013, a bacterium was found in New Zealand that was resistant to every single antibiotic known to man. New Zealand's leading microbiologist said the country might be setback 100 years when disease-causing bacteria eventually becomes immune to antibiotics. The World Health Organization has said that in 10 years, antibiotics will no longer effectively treat bacterial diseases (Su, 2014). Selection of resistant microorganisms is exacerbated by inappropriate use of antimicrobials. Animal husbandry is the agricultural science of breeding and farming of farm animals. It is a source of resistance because sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics are used in animal-rearing for promoting growth or preventing diseases. Injecting antibiotics into farm animals