The next time you’re picking up ground beef for hamburgers or meatloaf, you might want to spend a little extra and get the organic, all-natural stuff, as a new Consumer Reports study has found it is less than half as likely to contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the researchers behind the new study conducted lab tests on 300 samples involving more than 450 pounds of conventional and sustainably-farmed ground beef purchased in 26 US cities. They found that 18 percent of traditional beef contained antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains versus just nine percent of organically-produced meat.
The samples were tested for five types of microbes known to commonly cause food-born illness, including multiple strains of E. coli, salmonella, and staphylococcus aureus. They found that all 458 pounds of beef tested contained enterococcus and/or nontoxin-producing E. coli bacteria, or strains that signified fecal contamination.
Nearly 20 percent of them contained C. perfringens, a bacteria that causes nearly one million cases of food poisoning annually, and 10 percent of the samples contained a strain of S. aureus bacteria which can produce an illness-causing toxin that cannot be destroyed, even by proper cooking, Consumer Reports said. Only one percent of samples contained salmonella.
Safety experts: buy grass-fed organic beef, and thoroughly cook it
In light of the findings, experts are advising beef enthusiasts to make sure that their meat has been cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees and to avoid undercooking them (which means no more rare burgers, folks, sorry). They are also advocating the use of safer, “grass-fed organic beef” since traditionally-raised cows are typically administered antibiotics.
“There’s no way to tell by looking at a package of meat or smelling it whether it has harmful bacteria or not,” explained Dr. Urvashi Rangan, the executive director of the Center for Food Safety and Sustainability at Consumer Reports. “You have to be on guard every time.”
“The most sustainable beef-production systems don’t rely on any daily drugs, don’t confine animals, and do allow them to eat a natural diet. Our findings show that more sustainable can mean safer meat,” she added. “We suggest that you choose what’s labeled ‘grass-fed organic beef’ whenever you can,” which she noted is safer and more humane (but unfortunately more expensive as well).
The USDA also recommend keeping beef at temperatures under 40 degrees or above 140 degrees at all times, to keep raw beef from touching cutting boards and utensils used for uncooked foods, to cook or freeze it within two days of purchase, to thaw it in the microwave or refrigerator, and to avoid grinding your own ground beef, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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