Consumer Reports says its national survey in the United States found sustainable
beef had half as many samples with antibiotic-resistant bacteria as
conventional beef.
Of 300 samples gathered from retail outlets in 26 cities, 18
per cent of conventional beef had bacteria resistant to three or more classes
of antibiotics whereas nine per cent of sustainable beef had those bacteria.
Other findings:
More than 80 percent of the conventional beef samples contained
two types of bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
Nearly 20 percent of the beef samples contained C.
perfringens, bacteria that causes almost a million cases of food poisoning
annually.
Ten percent of the beef samples contained a strain of S.
aureus bacteria that can produce a toxin that can make people sick – and cannot
be destroyed even with proper cooking.
