Bacteria in Many Grocery Meats

Nearly half of meat and poultry in grocery stores contains bacteria linked to a range of human diseases. In addition, about half of the bacteria were resistant to antibiotics. A nonprofit group in Arizona did the study. They took samples from 136 packages of meat and poultry in 4 states – Illinois, California, Arizona and Florida — and the District of Columbia. They found Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in 47% of the samples. This bacteria can cause heart valve infections, toxic shock syndrome and other diseases. The study was published April 15 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The Associated Press wrote about the study that day.