re: no question there will be another pandemic Boston...

re: no question there will be another pandemic Boston (eCanadaNow) - A report has found that 83% of 525 chickens tested were infected with either campylobacter or salmonella bacteria.

The chickens were all purchased from supermarkets, bulk retailers, gourmet shops, and natural food stores from 23 different states.

Government agencies now need to act if consumers are to trust the chicken according to Geoffrey Martin, the director of the magazine consumer science.

Federal regulation is “beyond overdue,” says Jean Halloran of the Consumers Union, which publishes the magazine. “They may criticize our testing methodology but they’re not doing any testing at all.”

Earlier studies have shown very different findings with only 26% of chickens testing positive with bacteria. The FDA found campylobacter in 60% of chicken breasts back in a 2004 study.

If all these varying numbers are any indication and different scientific methods were done each time, its hard to tell who has the real facts.

Campylobacter is easily destroyed, the CDC’s Robert Tauxe says. Soap, hot water, cooking or freezing can kill it easily. “You leave salmonella out overnight on the counter and it grows. You leave campylobacter out and it dies.”