The magazine “Consumer Reports” unveiled a study on its website Tuesday that sent a shock wave through the heart of our nation’s pork industry. In analyzing just under 200 samples of pork, they claimed that “The Other White Meat” may not be as safe of a protein source as thought. This comes after high levels of bacteria were found in their samples including some that were resistant to “multiple drugs or classes of drugs.” They also brought into question the low levels of ractopamine that were found in one-fifth of the samples. This is a drug used to promote growth.
The pork industry and the world of academia are now speaking out about the findings.
Similarly, Dr. Scott Hurd, Director of the Food Risk Modeling and Policy Lab at Iowa State University questioned the sample size of the study.
The study also contended that some of the bacteria detected were resistant to drugs. This brought up the topic of antibiotic resistance.
If you have any questions about the U.S. pork industry or want more information, visit www.Pork.org.
© Northern Ag Network 2012
(Audio with Dr. Hurd courtesy of the Pork Checkoff)
Haylie Shipp
