Half of chicken meat contaminated with dangerous diarrhea germs

More and more chicken meat contaminated with germs?

It has been known for some years that more and more chicken meat in retail is contaminated with dangerous germs. For this purpose, consumer protection and politicians are mainly responsible for the hygiene in the slaughterhouses.

In food retailing more than every other fresh meat sample of chicken is contaminated with a diarrheal pathogen. Such pathogens are particularly dangerous for immunocompromised people and can lead to unpleasant diseases in these. In 2017, as many as 51.8 percent of the chicken meat samples contained the diarrhea known as Campylobacter. Given that there was only 31.6 percent contamination of samples in 2011, this was a dramatic increase.

More and more pathogens on our slaughterhouses

The pathogen was detected in slaughterhouses in 2017, even at 78.8 percent of chickens. This emerged from samples by the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL). In 2011, the value was still at a contamination of 40.9 percent, as the answer of the Federal Government to a written question by the Green Party leader Anton Hofreiter.

Children, the elderly and pregnant women are particularly frequently affected

The pathogen Campylobacter leads annually to 60,000 to 70,000 reported diseases, say experts from the Robert Koch Institute. This corresponds to a rate of 80 to 90 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. There are some population groups that are particularly affected by the contamination. These include the elderly, pregnant women and children.

Are there ways to protect against the pathogens?

Roasting the chicken meat can kill the dangerous germs. However, if the meat is not sufficiently fried, this can lead to even the slightest accumulation of germs in consumers triggering serious illnesses. As stated by the Federal Government, the number of contaminated meat with the diarrhea has increased significantly in recent years.

Why is there more and more contaminated chicken meat??

As more and more pathogen-contaminated chicken meat is available, the question arises as to what the increase in contaminants is based on. The reason for this is probably the unrestrained spread of the pathogens in the slaughterhouses. The prevailing hygiene measures there is apparently just done too little against this particular pathogen.

The conditions on the German slaughterhouses are bad

In general, the employees work there in chord and the pay is usually only below average, which leads to a poorer hygiene, Hofreiter explained in a video. The chicken meat must always be sufficiently cooled after processing to avoid contamination with pathogens. This is precisely where there is a further risk for contamination, as gaps in the so-called cold chain from fattening to retail can cause the meat to heat up.

Antibiotic-resistant germs can be transmitted via food

The government needs to improve hygiene at our slaughterhouses. In particular, the Federal Government should do more to ensure that the limit values ​​for the occurring germ burden are improved, demands Hofreiter. When infection by germs from animals is transmitted to humans, this is a problem that should not be underestimated. It is also possible that bacteria resistant to antibiotics are transmitted via food, which leads to a significant health risk, explains the consumer protection boss Klaus Müller.

Germs on meat come mainly from animal husbandry

Apparently, the federal government does not care that our meat contains more and more diarrhea and the number of infected people continues to rise. Apparently, the federal government prefers to lay its protective hand over the agricultural and slaughter industry, criticizes Hofreiter. The germs found are mainly from animal husbandry. During slaughter germs and pathogens can then be transmitted to the meat of the animals. Therefore, it is very important that the slaughterhouses are better controlled in the future by experts and in addition, optimized hygiene measures must be taken. However, it is just as important to oblige manufacturers and retailers to improve their compliance with the cold chain, says Hofreiter. Through optimized hygiene and management measures, farms must ensure that our livestock are healthier and that animals are only given antibiotics in exceptional cases.

Poultry slaughterhouses must optimize their hygiene measures

It is a serious problem that for some years an increase in the germ burden (especially germs such as Campylobacter) of chicken meat is observed, which can lead to increased cases of diarrheal diseases, says the Minister of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia Ursula Heinen-Esser of the CDU. The poultry slaughterhouses are required here, they must necessarily optimize their hygiene measures. Countries and the economy are already being discussed so that necessary measures can be taken.

Is it possible to treat the meat with chlorine in Germany??

In the US, there is a permissible method to kill existing germs on the meat by a treatment with chlorine, explains the Federal Association of the food trade on this issue. In Europe, however, such treatment of the meat is not permitted. But there are indications for handling and consumption on the packaging of poultry meat. Such a meat is not suitable to consume it raw, it must necessarily be cooked sufficiently before consumption. A proper heating of the meat can reliably kill the germs. (As)