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Urgent warning over traces of deadly superbug found in supermarket meat

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MEAT eating Brits could be at risk of a deadly superbug after traces of it were found in supermarket products.

An investigation discovered that some British pork has been infected with enterococci bacteria.

This bacteria can be dangerous as it can cause issues such as urinary tract infections (UTIs).

In serious cases, the bacteria can enter the bloodstream, infecting it and impacting both the heart and brain.

Tests found that more than 10 per cent of products had the strain - which showed resistance to an antibiotic used to treat serious illness in humans.

Products tested include some that were marked 'Red Tractor assured' as well some organic lines.

Bacteria was present in items such as mince, chops and joints.

Experts said the testing was 'worrying' and reinforced the need for further montoring.

In the report by Fera Sciences and World Animal Protection, experts suggest enterococci is more widespread in the UK than had previously been thought.

Tests found that 13 in 103 samples of organic produce carried the bug, even though those farming organically use far less antibiotics on their animals.

Lindsay Duncan World Animal Protection farming campaigns manager said: "This indicates that antibiotics are being overused in low welfare farms to stop animals getting sick in poor conditions and exacerbating the world’s drug resistance crisis.

"We’re calling on the UK Government to end the routine use of antibiotics on farm animals, as the EU has recently done, and to acknowledge that a reduction in animal product consumption is needed to address the countless issues caused by factory farming,”

Professor emeritus of food policy at City, University of London, Tim Lang, told The Guardian: “These findings suggest that antibiotic use is by no means under control in parts of the meat industry.

"Buying any food is a trust relationship; no consumers have X-ray specs to see what these findings show. There’s no label.”

In recent months, drug-resistant stains of bacteria have become a major health concern.

Experts recently said that bacteria which causes typhoid is becoming resistant to antibiotics.

The illness originates in South Asia, but medics in Stanford said it has spread to other countries nearly 200 times since 1990.

In general, antibiotic resistance has declined in South Asia.

Experts said strains resistant to macrolides and quinolones – two of the most important antibiotics for human health – have risen sharply and spread to other countries.

When it comes to meat production, antibiotics are widely used in livestock to treat and prevent illness.

On Red Tractor farms, pigs have to have antibiotics under the direction of a vet.

Experts recently warned that Brits should be wary when cooking meat, as a certain type of poisoning peaks in June.

Medics at the Oxford Martin School at Oxford University warned that campylobacter food poisoning is rife this time of year.

This is because, typically, June is relatively warm and many people buy poultry such as chicken to cook at barbeques.

You might think you're doing the right thing washing your chicken, but experts say that cleaning raw chicken can spread the bug, splashing it onto hands, work surfaces, clothing and cooking equipment.

But it's not just chicken - and the bug is also found in red meat - so you might also become ill from eating burgers or kebabs.

 

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