Dirty bird: Bad bacteria in 83% of chickens

A scorching study of more than 525 chickens by Consumer Reports found the bacteria salmonella and campylobacter in 83 percent of the birds.

That’s a huge increase from a 2003 study, and is an obvious cause for concern. Most of us are already familiar with salmonella, but campylobacter is still obscure, although this bacteria is popping up in more chickens than ever, according to the study. The study included chickens from four leading brands: Foster Farms, Perdue, Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson.

The Department of Agriculture, which already tests chickens for salmonella, doesn’t have any standards for testing or controlling campylobacter. The government should take this study to heart, and put in place better measures to protect consumers from campylobacter.

But what exactly are the dangers of these bacteria? Here’s what the study says on that topic: “Both salmonella and campylobacter can cause intestinal distress, and campylobacter can also lead to meningitis, arthritis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neurological disorder.” Campylobacter and salmonella sickened more than 3.4 million Americans and killed more than 700 since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To make matters worse, most of the contaminated chickens were resistant to some antibiotics. Antibiotics are given to chickens to both speed their growth and to stave off sickness rather than paying for expensive veterinarian care. Unfortunately, chickens can pass some of that resistance on to humans, making us harder to treat with antibiotics.

The one chicken producer in the study with hardly any dangerous bacteria was Ranger, a brand sold in the Northwest. Even without using antibiotics, Ranger only had two birds out of 10 with campylobacter, and none had salmonella.

For more on the study and ways to keep salmonella and campylobacter out of your kitchen and system, go to the Consumer Reports site.