WILL YOU GET SICK FROM THE STAPH IN YOUR MEAT?

So now we suspect that Staphyloccus aureus bacteria and their toxins could be hiding in half the beef, pork, chicken and turkey we eat in America (see earlier blogs). So why aren't meat eaters getting sick more often?

The U.S. federal authorities estimate that this bacteria is only responsible for about 3 percent of foodborne illness. The meat industry (represented by the American Meat Institute) naturally says it is even less - about 1 percent. (You can do a lot of creative stuff with statistics, and as always, you can find some study or other to back up your case).

In fact, at least a quarter of us walk around with Staph bacteria up our noses, in our mouth or on our skin. Mind you, it's more likely to be one of the less dangerous Staph like Staphylococcus albus, but Staphylococcus aureus is sometimes there too.

But what about this Staphylococcus aureus in meat and other foods you eat? Will it make you sick?

Whether you get sick or not, will depend on a number of factors, including: i) which type of toxins the Staph bacteria produce (see earlier post which explains that toxins are what make you ill - not the Staph bacteria themselves); ii) how much of these toxins you ingest; and iii) who you are.

First, not all Staph produce dangerous enterotoxins such as Staphylococcal enterotoxin Type A or B, and your body can cope with small amounts in your burger or fried chicken, if you don't eat too much (Yet another reason to cut back on the size of your meat portion!).

Finally, whether you get symptoms of food poisoning will depend on how susceptible you yourself are. As always, some people are more vulnerable than others - young children, older adults, people with serious illnesses. I also came across an interesting study of illnesses caused by Staph toxins which found that people under stress are more susceptible than normal.

So don't stress out too much about Staph in your meat. Often there won't be enough toxins to hurt you. Besides, any stress just could make you more susceptible!

TSF

HOW SAFE WAS MEAT IN 2009?

Meat is not the most risky food we eat. More illnesses are caused by contaminated produce. On the other hand, our meat isn't all that safe either.

Let's take a quick look at how safe American meat was in 2009. We can get some idea from looking at how many recalls were announced for bacteria-contaminated meat or meat products by food companies - often under strong pressure from the USDA, which is in charge of keeping our meat safe. Mind you, this kind of data badly underestimates the real situation. Much of the time - who knows how much - contamination is either not caught, or else, is hidden, so that a costly recall will not have to take place. Also, bacteria are only one possible food contaminant, including in meat. Finally, much of meat and other food contamination occurs at later stages, for instance, at the meat market, in a restaurant, or in our homes. This would not result in a recall of products that have been distributed to wholesalers or retailers. Keeping all this in mind, here's an overview of meat recalls in 2009 that were not caused by bits of plastic, allergens, mislabeling or such other problems, but were due to 'bad bugs' that entered at early stages in the farm-to-fork process.

• Bacteria caused at least 22 recalls of meat or meat products (such as sausages, cold cuts, meat pastes) in 2009, some small, others large-scale and multi-state recalls. In all, probably about 2 million pounds of meat were 'recovered' (read that as 'arrived back at the recalling company' ). We can assume that an even larger amount was eaten (recalls come too late, retailers and consumers don't hear about them).
• The USDA announced one or more recalls of bacteria-contaminated meat or of a meat product every month of 2009, except for March (when there was just some allergens and mislabeling of products).
• The most common bacteria involved in a recall in 2009 were the deadly E.coli 0157:H7 which was identified as the cause of fully 50%, or eleven meat recalls, in 2009.
• Listeria bacteria (very dangerous to pregnanat women, people who have serious illnesses) were tied to seven outbreaks in 2009, usually in connection with processed products (such as smoked beef brisket, sausages, duck confit, bacon bit products and the like).
• Salmonella bacteria caused four outbreaks.

Which is the most dangerous meat to eat? It's still the same as it has always been - ground beef, and especially ground beef made into hamburgers that you can just throw on the grill or into the microwave.

Bon appétit!

BEEF'S TURN

Well, now it's beef's turn to come up contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. On August 6 the USDA announced that Beef Packers, Inc., based in Fresno, California, is recalling approximately 825,769 pounds of ground beef products that may be linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis. That is a whole lot of beef. The ground beef products were sent to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah.

So, we just avoid eating it, right? No, unfortunately not, because we don't know what brand name they were sold under. The product was shipped in bulk, and then repackaged by other different companies into smaller packages with different names. Who knows what they all are. Besides, the 'use or freeze by' date has long expired. The meat was sent out on various dates in June, and the latest use-date was before mid-July. In other words, the chances are that it has already been eaten. That nasty bout of diarrhea, vomiting, fever etc. that you had a few weeks ago, that you thought was the 'flu - well, it could have been that medium-rare hamburger you ate (or, well-cooked one you made without using careful kitchen hygiene). To make matters worse, this is a particularly nasty member of the Salmonella family - Salmonella Newport because it is resistant to many commonly prescribed antibiotics. And that is not mentioning the risk of longer-term effects on our health, like arthritis and worse.

So, what do we do? Well, if you are presently eating in California, Arizona, Colorado or Utah, the safest approach is to only buy ground beef from a store that grinds up their own. Or, maybe skip eating any ground beef meals for a while altogether. Try a turkey-burger instead. It is better for you, and actually quite good, particularly if you throw some garlic and herbs on it, and maybe a pile of cream sherry-soaked sauteed red onions on top, served on an onion bagel...

Bon appetit,
TSF