Study finds extensive evidence of fecal contamination in ground turkey samples

Source: Consumer Reports

A recent Consumer Reports study found that 90 percent of ground turkey samples from American retailers contained one or more of the five bacteria they were testing for. Nearly 70 percent of the samples, purchased in retail stores around the United States, contained enterococcus and 60 percent contained E. coli, both of which are associated with fecal contamination.

Fifteen percent of the samples contained Staphylococcusaureus, and 5 percent contained salmonella. Though they tested for Campylobacter, they found no positive samples within the turkey meat.

Additionally, ground turkey produces that were marked as "organic" or "raised without antibiotics" were just as likely to harbor these bacteria as the conventional products. The bacteria found on those products, however, were more much less likely to be antibiotic-resistant than the bacteria found on the conventional products.