Dive Brief:
- Consumer Reports has published a study implying that chicken meat may be dangerous. The research lab tested 300 chicken breasts from a variety of producers and "found potentially harmful bacteria lurking in almost all of the chicken, including organic brands" (97% of the breasts tested).
- Consumer Reports noted that bacteria is to be expected on raw meat, but said that the levels and types of bacteria it detected in tests was troubling.
- In particular, CR said: "More than half of the samples contained fecal contaminants. And about half of them harbored at least one bacterium that was resistant to three or more commonly prescribed antibiotics."
Dive Insight:
Shhh. Be quiet for a second. Can you hear that? It's like a dull roar coming over the horizon? You hear it? That's the sound of a hundred million consumers all moaning and saying "gross" at the same time as news about this study spreads.
There's a lesson in here for the food industry, through, which is that keeping consumers informed about how they should prepare their food and why is crucial for keeping everyone safe.