Poultry Conditions Called Dangerous

Poultry slaughter and processing in the United States spread dangerous bacteria, according to a study by a consumer group that described poultry carcasses swimming in a “fecal soup” of contamination.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest said a major source of contamination is the mechanical evisceration process, which sometimes spills intestinal contents all over the body cavity and then transmits the contamination to subsequent birds.

Poultry industry officials flatly rejected the report as unscientific and accused the center of playing on consumer fears. The industry says that although a large proportion of poultry carcasses are contaminated, the amount of bacteria on each is below dangerous levels. Adequate cooking kills the bacteria.

The report comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture is about to publish final regulations to introduce widespread scientific testing into the federal meat and poultry inspection process. In its first proposal, the department said it would make slaughter plants test meat and poultry daily for salmonella, which shows up in 25% of slaughtered chickens and 5% of beef carcasses. The industry would have had to bring contamination down.

The government instead may make the industry test for E. coli, a harmless but common bacteria that can indicate contamination.