Fresh chickens are often heavily contaminated with bacteria
Fresh chicken drumsticks are often contaminated with germs, according to an analysis by Stiftung Warentest. Some pathogens can make you sick and are resistant to antibiotics. Organic meat proved to be problematic. Only five products rated the testers "good".
Berlin - The packs in the refrigerated counter all look similar, the meat is packed industrially, the chicken leg does not look like the chicken from which it was made. The sense of smell does not help to evaluate the food, in the aisle, everything smells like the oven of the bakery department. The Stiftung Warentest has now made fresh chicken legs and comes to a sobering result: Chicken drumsticks are often heavily contaminated with germs.
Often these are not just spoilage germs but also pathogens against which certain antibiotics are ineffective. The Stiftung Warentest in Berlin comes to this conclusion after examining 20 fresh chicken thighs from the assortment of different supermarkets and discounters. Only five products achieved a grade of "good", according to the magazine "test".
Nine of the 20 test chicken thighs were microbiologically cut off or insufficient shortly before or just before use, although the product testers had cooled them optimally between purchase and test. Although no product contained salmonella, two found a listeria amount in excess of the allowed EU limit. In other germs were often the Richt- or warning values of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology exceeded. The investigators discovered the diarrhea pathogen Campylobacter in eight products. However, there are no limits to this.
Weighted organic products
To bring chicken without germs on the market is impossible and not necessary. However, critical limits should not be exceeded, especially pathogens should be avoided. The bioproducts contained many germs of disease, the testers complain.
Of the five biobrants in the test, even Rewe's best product was only "satisfactory." The biomarkers performed better in the search for antibiotic-resistant bacteria: while eleven out of 15 conventionally produced chicken thighs were burdened with it, the testers only found one of the five organic products.
Only two recommended brands
The commodity testers advise on the chicken thighs of "Friki Chicken Chicken Thighs with Back Piece" ("good") and "Chicken Thighs with Back Piece" from Kaufland ("good"), which contained few and no antibiotic-resistant germs. Also rated as "good" by the testers were the two products contaminated with antibiotic-resistant germs from "Aldi Süd chicken leg with 25 percent back piece" and "Rewe / Wilhelm Brandenburg chicken leg with the back piece". Good also cut off "Globus / FairMast chicken thighs with the back piece", in which no antibiotic-resistant germs were detected.
In contrast, the testers rated the products "Karstadt / Excellent Fine Food chicken legs with back piece", "Maître Coq Le Poulet Fermier organic corn chicken legs", "Norma / Gut Langenhof chicken thighs with back piece", "Alnatura / Packlhof organic butcher chicken legs ( Bioland), "Organic Chicken Chicken Legs" and "Fresh Paradise / Le Marensin Outdoor Corn Husk Pieces from Les Landes".
Antibiotic-resistant germs come from animals to humans
The pathogens, which are insensitive to various antibiotics, spread from agriculture to humans and eventually cause difficulties in the treatment of patients. In conventional agriculture, all animals of stock are often treated as a precaution when some animals ail, reported Stiftung Warentest. Recently, scientists from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover pointed to the high number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria contaminated stocks actually healthy livestock.
The bacteria find their way to humans via wastewater, plant and animal foods. Here, too careless use of antibiotics leads to the spread of resistant pathogens. Finally, in hospitals, in a growing number of cases, only a few antibiotics are available to help with serious infections.
For consumers, in the case of raw chicken, the advice is always to cool the goods well, to consume them soon and to consume them thoroughly. Before processing, the product testers recommend that you wash your hands well, prepare the meat separately from other foods, and then thoroughly clean all kitchen utensils with hot water and detergent. That "Stiftung Warentest" has currently examined the chicken thighs, but not chicken breast meat, does not allow any conclusions about the burden of other chicken pieces.