Consumers Have Few Tactics To Combat Supermarket Meat Staph Bug

By John Voket

According to the Newtown Health District’s food inspection specialist, not even thorough cooking of any supermarket meat contaminated by staph germs can totally eliminate the possibility of spreading the foodborne illness.

This reminder was provided by Suzette LeBlanc in light of a recent study that estimates up to half the meat and poultry sold in the supermarkets may be tainted with the staph germ.

The most recent estimates about the prevalence of the germ is based on just 136 samples of beef, chicken, pork, and turkey purchased from grocery stores in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Flagstaff, Ariz., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“This study shows that much of our meat and poultry is contaminated with multidrug-resistant staph,” Paul Keim, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “Now we need to determine what this means in terms of risk to the consumer.”

According to Ms LeBlanc, Staphylococcus aureus is classified as an intoxication. 

“Staphylococci multiply in food and produce toxins which are heat stable,” the Newtown health official explained. “Heat-stable toxins are not killed in the cooking process, therefore, prevention and control of these outbreaks are based on educating food handlers.”

The new study found more than half the samples collected for the national study contained staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that can make people sick. Worse, half of those contaminated samples had a form of staph that is resistant to at least three kinds of antibiotics.

Mr Keim and his co-authors work at the nonprofit Translational Genomics Research Institute in Arizona. Their study is to be published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, an institute spokesman said.

Ms LeBlanc said Staphylococci are present in and around boils, pimples, cuts, burns and infected noses and eyes.

“The temperature of a person’s skin is ideal for bacterial growth and skin secretions provide nutrients for this growth,” she said. “Food handlers’ hands are a potential vehicle for transmission of microorganisms to food. For this reason it is important to establish and enforce good personal hygiene and food handling practices.”

Active Staph germs are commonly found on the skin and in the noses of up to 50 percent of healthy people. The bacteria can be spread in many settings, from the packing plant to the kitchen, and it can cause food poisoning.

Federal health officials estimate staph accounts for less than three percent of foodborne illnesses, far less than more common bugs like salmonella and E. coli. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that staph accounts for roughly a quarter-million cases of foodborne illness a year in the United States.

The study’s authors note that livestock and poultry are steadily fed low doses of antibiotics at industrial farms. They suggest that may be a contributor to the antibiotic resistance seen in some meat samples.

Among the types of drug-resistant germs the researchers found, one was methicillin-resistant staph, or MRSA, a superbug that can be fatal. They found MRSA in three of the 136 samples.

Food and Drug Administration officials say meat does not seem to be a significant route for MRSA transmission, but health officials continue to study the issue.

Ms LeBlanc concurs with CDC reaction to the study — that hand washing and proper cooking are the best ways to avoid problems, but she warns that another major culprit associated with staph contamination is the kitchen cutting board orcountertop.

According to Ms LeBlanc, foodborne staphylococcus aureaus is typically associated with high protein products that are handled during processing or preparation.

“If you come home with fresh meat or poultry, don’t cross-contaminate in your own kitchen,” she said. “Begin by cleaning all food contact surfaces: utensils, cutting boards, countertops. You can purchase sanitizing wipes or create your own sanitizing solution at home by combining one-half teaspoon of bleach to 32 ounces of water and placing into a labeled spray bottle.

“Then wash, rinse, and sanitize all food contact surfaces before food preparation. Be careful to sanitize between preparations of raw potentially hazardous foods and ready-to-eat foods,” the local health official said.

And when cooking, she added, be sure to heat food to the proper internal temperature, checking the temperature with a food thermometer.

Whole roast beef and pork should be a consistent 145°F; ground meats should be158°F; and any game meats or poultry should be heated to165°F.

The government does not routinely check retail meat and poultry for staph bacteria. However, a fairly recent FDA pilot study in the Washington area looked at more than 1,100 meat and poultry samples and found staph in 280 of them.

A Louisiana State University study of 120 meat samples found it in almost half of pork chops and 20 percent of beef steak samples. That study, published in 2009, calculated the superbug MRSA was in about five percent of pork samples and 3 percent of beef.

A rebuttal statement issued by the American Meat Institute said the study is misleading.

“Despite the claims of this small study, consumers can feel confident that meat and poultry is safe,” said James H. Hodges, the organization’s president.

According to Ms LeBlanc, onset of staphylococcal food poisoning symptoms range from 30 minutes to seven hours after consumption of foods containing preformed toxins. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea are common symptoms.

Recovery usually takes about two days.

Associated Press content was used in this report.