Salmonella was present on about 60 percent of chicken tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) during the fourth quarter of 2013, according to a report by the agency. About 23 percent of turkey samples tested were positive for the bacteria, giving an average of 47 percent for all poultry tested from Oct.1 through Dec. 31.
Results for Campylobacter testing were listed in the same report. That bacteria was found on about 10 percent of chicken tested and about 1 percent of turkey samples that were tested.
Those numbers are not surprising considering other published data. A Consumer Reports story found some kind of bacteria on 97 percent of chicken breasts it tested. The magazine found E. coli on 65.2 percent of samples, Campylobacter on 43 percent; and Salmonella on 10.8 percent.
“I’ve never felt so sick in my life,” the 51-year-old told Consumer Report. Schiller said he woke up sick at 2 a.m. He was vomiting, had diarrhea and severe abdominal cramps. His fiancée rushed him to the emergency room, doctors there did a stool sample and found it positive for Salmonella. Schiller had eaten a meal made with Foster Farms chicken prior to becoming ill and still had one unopened package at home. Tests on it showed that it was a match to the products associated with the outbreak.
Foster Farms chicken is sold under other brand names including Eating Right, Kirkland Signature, O Organics, Open Nature, Ralphs, Safeway Farms, and Simple Truth Organic. Other cases were reported in: Alaska (1), Arkansas (1), Arizona (25), Colorado (9), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Florida (4), Georgia (1), Hawaii (1), Idaho (5), Illinois (1), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (1), Michigan (4), Missouri (5), Montana (1), North Carolina (1), Nevada (11), New Mexico (2), Oregon (14), Puerto Rico (1), Tennessee (1), Texas (13), Utah (6), Virginia (4), Washington (17), and Wisconsin (1).
Here is an idea; stop eating animals!