NEW YORK (Reuters) – Researchers have found high levels of bacteria in meat commonly found on U.S. grocery store shelves, with more than half of the bacteria resistant to multiple types of antibiotics, according to a study released on Friday.

While the meat commonly found in grocery stores is still safe to eat, consumers should take precautions especially in handling and cooking, the chief researcher for the study said.

The study by the Arizona-based Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen, or TGRI) examined 136 meat samples from 26 grocery stores in Illinois, Florida, California, Arizona and Washington D.C.

Dr. Lance Price, the head researcher on the study, said high levels of Staphylococcus aureus (S.Aureus) bacteria were found in the meat.

"Staph causes hundreds of thousands of infections in the United States every year," Price said in an interview. "It causes a whole slew of infections ranging from skin infections to really bad respiratory infections like pneumonia."

Staph infections also kill more people in the United States each year than HIV, he said.

more here - http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110415/...bacteria_study


Sure it's safe to eat -- if you like eating dead, multiple-drug-resistant staph bacteria. Do you want fries with that?


Be careful in preparation if you do eat meat...

PLUS, have you heard of Meat Glue? I may be wrong, but from what I've read about it on the Internet, seems that they take mostly the Platelets (part of the blood that stops bleeding) and dries it, then when you sprinkle it on a bunch of little chunks of meat, form it in a plastic roll, and let it set, it glues itself into a normal looking piece of meat. Best not to eat it rare though.

And no, I'm not trying to tell anyone to become vegans, there's danger in that too. But should you have access to grass grown cattle, that's the way to go. Cut up by the farmer, yourself, or a shop that does this exclusively. No outside meats brought in, or at least not while cutting for you or ranchers who raise stock naturally. Wish we had some close by here. I'm thinking of going wild pig hunting with some friends. No hormones, no antibiotics, no unnatural feeding of grains, etc. And you can get one per day here in CA..yeah, right. As if anyone could catch that many pigs!! Those critters are SMART.

I guess we are very fortunate-we rarely buy meat at a grocery. We have butcher shops in our area where they sell meats that are grass-fed without antibiotics or meds in their diet. And our own chemical free gardens. Not everyone has that luxury.I see farmers market meat and veggies and fruit that are grown that way. Not cheap,though.Maybe cheaper in the long run with health issues we may deal with. Why do I like those fries so well?!

We raise all our own--meat from the store makes me SICK!!! Literally. Cannot eat it.
And watch out if you hunt feral hogs--they are very dangerous. When you kill or wound one, the others can attack. Know a fellow who spent two days up in a tree after they killed his horse. He shot one and wounded it, the others attacked. NOT a myth, either--his last hog hunt from a horse.

Just to throw another thing into the mix....have you thought about the food prep when you eat out? Those salad bars that kids sneeze in and touch while parents could care less. The buffet restaurants with everything out in the open. Seems like most people think nothing of eating out and not realizing what truly goes on behind the scenes nor pay attention to what they can see. Talk about disgusting!

Why are organic foods more expensive when they take less money to produce? We all have to be so proactive in our choices these days...as it's almost a full time job to purchase safe meat and other things we eat on a daily basis.

uugghh...we try to raise our own chicken and put up enough deer to last the year. With 8 in the family though I don't always succeed. Everything is cooked until it is way done though.

It is NOT less expensive to produce organics--yields are often lower, there are more culls due to bug damage, etc. and MUCH more hand labor for fruits and veggies. We used to market garden 2 A. and we worked our fannies off----

We butcher! From the cow, straight to the butcher, to the freezer! Otherwise I'd be a vegetarian!