Nearly 97 Percent Raw Chicken Infected with Bacteria: Consumer Report

Nearly 97 per cent of samples of raw chicken breasts in retail stores were found infected with bacteria, a research conducted by Consumer Reports reveals.

The researchers tested more than 300 samples of raw chicken breast sold at supermarkets throughout the country. They found that 97 percent of the tested samples contained potentially harmful bacteria.

Around 50 percent of the samples were resistant to at least one antibiotic strain. The researchers stated that raw chicken is generally infected with bacteria. But they said it is important to cook it properly at the right temperature.

The researchers found specific bacteria strains. The most common form of bacteria was enterococcus that was found on 79.8 percent of the chicken breast samples. They also found 65.2 percent of E. coli on 65.2 percent and  43 percent campylobacter. Around 13 percent of klebsiella pneumonia, 10.8 percent of salmonella and 9.2 percent of staphylococcus aureus were also found in the chicken samples, the Consumer Report stated.

"There is always a risk of food borne illness," said Keeve Nachman from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future's Food Production and Public Health Program, reported Forbes. "But when a person comes down with an infection, if the pathogen is resistant, it is more expensive to treat, there are increased productivity losses and the survival rate is lower."

The researchers also expressed concerns over the possible outbreak of diseases because of the discovery of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria on these many samples of chicken. Antibiotic-resistant strains kill around 23,000 people every year in the U.S. and over 2 million have reported sick due to the infection, the study stated.

The FDA has recently come out with certain guidelines to limit the use of antibiotics in animals to promote growth. But some feel that unless these guidelines are made mandatory their effectiveness will be limited.

The study has made recommendations to the FDA and USDA for limiting the use of antibiotics in animals to treat diseases and not use it for a lifetime for the purposes of growth and as a preventive measure against diseases.