
While consumers are increasing demand for pork produced without antibiotics, more of the pigs raised in such conditions carry bacteria and parasites associated with food-borne illnesses, according to a new study.
A comparison of swine raised in antibiotic-free and conventional pork production settings revealed that pigs raised outdoors without antibiotics had higher rates of three food-borne pathogens than did pigs on conventional farms, which remain indoors and receive preventive doses of antimicrobial drugs.
“Animal-friendly, outdoor farms tend to have a higher occurrence of Salmonella, as well as higher rates of parasitic disease,” said lead study author Wondwossen Gebreyes, associate professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State University.
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P.S. – As long as you thoroughly cook your meat and prepare it under sanitary conditions, you probably don’t need to worry too much about salmonella poisoning (small children, elderly people, and already sick people have a slightly greater risk of contracting it). To be safe, you should assume that at least half of all the raw chicken, eggs, pork, etc. you encounter is contaminated with salmonella and always take necessary precautions in preparing and cooking them (read the article for more specific information about this).
The study discussed in this article was funded by a grant from the National Pork Board. I wonder if the National Pork Board has a vested interest in supporting factory farmed pork. This seems like it may be an attempt to scare people away from “animal-friendly, outdoor farms,” and instead encourage them to purchase meat from more animal-unfriendly, indoor farms (aka, factory farms).
What do you think about this? Write a comment and let me know.