The German Environmental Aid has had turkey meat from the supermarket tested. In more than a quarter of the samples, germs were found against which antibiotics are no longer effective.
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) discovered antibiotic-resistant germs in more than a quarter of the turkey portions tested in test purchases in two German discount chains.
In a number of samples even germs were found that were resistant to reserve antibiotics, said the DUH agricultural expert Reinhild Benning on Tuesday in Berlin. Reserve antibiotics are actually meant to be used as a last resort in treating people in the fight against infections caused by multi-resistant bacteria.
At the presentation of the DUH study, the chairman of the board of the World Medical Association, Frank Montgomery, criticized the widespread use of these drugs in livestock farming and called for strict EU regulations. “We need to restrict the reserve antibiotics to healing in humans.” Instead, the drugs would be used to compensate for deficiencies in animal husbandry.
The DUH sample is not the first study to reveal the problem of antibiotic-resistant germs in animal husbandry. Other studies had also come to similar or even worse results in the past.
According to a recent report by several European health and food authorities, however, the controversial use of drugs in livestock farming is tending to decline. “The use of antibiotics has decreased and for the first time less in animals used for food production than in humans,” said the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) at the end of June.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
