Many antibiotic-resistant germs in the sausage

Green: 16 percent of the sausage burdened with antibiotic-resistant ESBL germs

05/21/2014

In a study commissioned by the parliamentary group of the Greens, harmful germs were discovered in sausages in 13 German cities. The ESBL germs are due to the increased use of antibiotics in factory farming. More and more pathogens become resistant to the means and can spread unhindered. Turkey sausage in particular is often contaminated with germs, according to the scientists.

Turkey sausage and Mettprodukte were loaded most frequently with ESBL germs
The researchers examined a total of 63 sausage products from supermarkets, discounters and bakeries. In ten samples (16 percent), antibiotic-resistant pathogens, so-called ESBL germs, were detected. In the group of turkey products, as many as 66 percent of the samples were contaminated. The tested Mettprodukte also contained the harmful germs at 22 percent frequently. In December 2012, the ratio was still 16 percent. Netto's turkey turmeric sausage and the puffed onion sausage from Rewe, Kaufland and Penny were the most frequently affected. In addition, the scientists identified ESBL germs in Kaufland's onion sausage, Rügenwalder's tea sausage, Aldi's paprika ham sausage and a Mettbrötchen from the Bendig butcher's shop.

Antibiotic-resistant germs due to too many antibiotics in factory farming
The abbreviation ESBL stands for „extended-spectrum beta-lactamases“. These enzymes are capable of rendering antibiotics ineffective. Bacteria need a definite test „Resistance gene“ to form these enzymes, which can be passed from one generation of bacteria to the next.

While these pathogens only appeared in hospitals for a long time, since 2000 they have also been detected in poultry, pig and cattle fattening. Numerous studies show a worrying increase in antibiotic resistance, mainly due to the massive and often inappropriate use of antibiotics in livestock farming. The funds are intended to prevent the spread of diseases in the stables. However, those ESBL germs also develop in the animals against which antibiotics are powerless. The mast stables act as a kind of training camp for the pathogens.

Green: Federal government should stop large-scale antibiotic use in fattening
If the bacteria get into the human body via eating meat, they nest in the intestine, because digestion can not harm these pathogens. Even antibiotics are no longer effective, so that the medical treatment is much more difficult and infections can take life-threatening courses. About 30,000 people die each year because antibiotics are no longer effective.

The Greens therefore demand from the Federal Government to stop the large-scale antibiotic use in the fattening of livestock. „The animal mast system is a ticking time bomb“, reminded Anton Hofreiter, chairman of the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag, opposite the „Tagesspiegel“. „With the production methods for cheap meat, we endanger our own health.“ This opinion is also shared by the Federal Office for Risk Research. According to estimates, six million Germans already carry antibiotic-resistant germs.