Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 45 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
General News    H1'ed 5/9/13

Worse than Germs--the Chemicals Used to Disinfect Meat

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   5 comments
Message Martha Rosenberg
Become a Fan
  (84 fans)

The meat and seafood you buy probably looks and smells fine. But processors may be using unsavory drugs to retard bacterial growth and the drugs do not appear on the label.

 

Many human antibiotics are used in meat production like penicillin, neomycin and sulfa and Cipro-like drugs. The FDA and medical community are trying to clamp down on the massive use of such drugs on large scale farms because they contribute to resistance of the very the germs they are supposed to kill.

 

Livestock operators fight antibiotic restrictions suggested by the FDA, doctors and scientific groups because the pills save them money. Without antibiotics, animals would need to be given more room--the packed conditions they live in on many farms today would cause illness and death. Antibiotics also let operators grow bigger animals with less food because the pills cause more efficient intestinal absorption of nutrients. And, unlike bacteria like salmonella, listeria or E. coli, antibiotics in meat are not inactivated by cooking.

 

Large commercial meat producers also use common cleaning chemicals like chlorine and ammonia to kill the germs endemic to livestock operations. Chickens are routinely given a chlorine bleach "bath" before sold to the public. And who can forget the ammonia puffs that Pink Slime was treated with to kill E. coli? Yuk.

The LABEL didn't say anything
The LABEL didn't say anything
(Image by Martha Rosenberg)
  Details   DMCA

 

"Big meat" also irradiates meat, adds nitrites (substances which can form carcinogenic nitrosamines in the body) and adds gasses to retard bacterial growth. Up to 70 percent of commercial meat in stores packages looks appealingly red because it is treated with carbon monoxide. Thanks to such gasses, meat can stay red up to a year but livestock producers deny that spoiled meat that looks red is a health risk. A spokesperson for a firm representing major meat companies says "When a product reaches the point of spoilage, there will be other signs that will be evidenced--for example odor, slime formation and a bulging package--so the product will not smell or look right." That's a relief!

 

Is seafood safer? Sadly, no. The antibiotics, veterinary drugs and pesticides used in aquaculture can make meat production look, well, green. A review of the book Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood on AlterNet says  

commercial shrimp production "begins with urea, superphosphate, and diesel, then progresses to the use of piscicides (fish-killing chemicals like chlorine and rotenone), pesticides and antibiotics (including some that are banned in the U.S.), and ends by treating the shrimp with sodium tripolyphosphate (a suspected neurotoxicant), Borax, and occasionally caustic soda." The New York Times , Chicago Tribune and Consumer Reports all have reported disturbing mercury levels in red lean and fatty tuna.  

 

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 7   Valuable 7   Well Said 5  
Rate It | View Ratings

Martha Rosenberg Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Martha Rosenberg is an award-winning investigative public health reporter who covers the food, drug and gun industries. Her first book, Born With A Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health, is distributed by Random (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Grassley Investigates Lilly/WebMD link Reported by Washington Post

The Drug Store in Your Tap Water

It's the Cymbalta Stupid

Are You Sure You're Not Psychotic Asks Shameless Drug Company?

Another Poorly Regulated "Derivative"--the Antidepressant Pristiq

MRSA and More. Antibiotics Linked to Obesity and Allergies, Too

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend