Beef: Study Finds All Had Fecal Contamination

By: Evan Jankens
@kingofthekc

Where's the beef? If it's in your dinner plans, you may want to reconsider.

A study done by consumerreports.org shows that by the odds the meat you are eating probably has fecal contamination.

For the study, they examined 458 pounds of beef and every last bit contained bacteria that signified fecal contamination.

The results were sobering. All 458 pounds of beef we examined contained bacteria that signified fecal contamination (enterococcus and/or nontoxin-producing E. coli), which can cause blood or urinary tract infections. Almost 20 percent contained C. perfringens, a bacteria that causes almost 1 million cases of food poisoning annually.

As the story states this is very "sobering" for a guy who absolutely loves a good hamburger.

"A significant amount also contained superbugs, bacteria that are resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics. A key reason is the overuse of antibiotics on cattle farms," according to ABC 7 in Los Angeles.

Organic and grass fed beef had better numbers, the study added.

So, why isn't everyone eating that?

Consumer Reports contacted the National Cattleman's Beef Association and got this comment: "If all cattle were grass-fed, we'd have less beef, and it would be less affordable. Since grass doesn't grow on pasture year-round in many parts of the country, feed lots evolved to make the most efficient use of land, water, fuel, labor and feed," Kansas State University professor Mike Apley told ABC 7.