How to Prevent the Spread of Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Your Kitchen
April 30, 2014
Story at-a-glance
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Two million American adults and children become infected
with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year. At least
23,000 of them die as a direct result of those
infections
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According to the CDC, as many as 22 percent of
antibiotic-resistant illness in humans is linked to
food, and research has shown that nearly half of all
meats sold in the US harbor drug-resistant bacteria
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These drug-resistant bacteria can easily spread during
food preparation, via cutting boards, kitchen counters,
and plastic gloves used during food preparation
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To avoid cross-contamination with other foods and spread
of potentially harmful bacteria, use a designated
cutting board for raw meat and poultry, and never use
this board for other food preparation
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Triclosan, a potent antibacterial agent found in many
soaps and detergents, is also spurring the proliferation
of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and is therefore best
avoided
By Dr. Mercola
According to a report1
by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
published in October 2013, two million American adults and
children become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each
year. At least 23,000 of them die as a direct result of those
infections, and even more die from complications.2
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has repeatedly ignored
the elephant in the room when it comes to the promulgation of
antibiotic-resistant disease, namely modern factory farming
practices where antibiotics are routinely fed to animals to promote
growth.
Despite the fact that both penicillin and tetracyclines are used
in human medicine, about half of the total sales for these two
antibiotics end up in animal feed.
All in all, an estimated 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in
the US end up in livestock. Needless to say, the impact of
agricultural antibiotics on human disease is quite significant and
cannot be ignored.
Unless you're eating organically raised meats, every piece of
meat you eat will give you a small dose of antibiotics, and this
low-dosing is a major part of the problem, because when the bacteria
are not killed by the antibiotic, they become stronger and develop
resistance through mutation.
The CDC has previously concluded that as much as 22 percent of
antibiotic-resistant illness in humans is in fact linked to
food, and research has shown that nearly half of all
meats sold in the US harbor drug-resistant bacteria!
Most of the meat sold in American grocery stores and restaurants
comes from
confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which can house tens
of thousands of animals under one roof, in unsanitary,
disease-ridden conditions. It's these conditions that allow
foodborne pathogens to flourish, and indeed studies have shown that
the larger the farm, the greater the chances of contamination.
Your Kitchen May Be a Major Source of Drug-Resistant Pathogens
These drug-resistant bacteria can also easily spread during food
preparation. As reported by Reuters,3
cutting boards used to prepare raw poultry can be a major culprit in
the spread of drug-resistant bacteria. As noted by Dr. James R.
Johnson, an infectious diseases researcher:
"If other foods go on those boards before the boards get
cleaned, or even after they're cleaned if the cleaning isn't 100
percent effective, the other foods, which may not get cooked, or
not as thoroughly as poultry, likely would get contaminated and
so could possibly pose an even higher risk of transmission to
humans than the poultry products themselves."
In a recent Swiss study,4
researchers collected cutting boards and discarded plastic gloves
from the kitchen in their hospital and private homes around
Switzerland, Germany, and France.
The cutting boards were then swabbed for bacteria. In total, 154
cutting boards were collected from the hospital kitchen over the
course of 16 months. Ten of them tested positive for
antibiotic-resistant E. coli. Of the 144 boards collected from
private homes, five of them also tested positive for the harmful
bacteria. Of the gloves collected, half were contaminated with
drug-resistant bacteria.
In light of these findings, the researchers urge all cooks to
carefully wash your hands, and to be mindful of the fact that
cutting boards and plastic gloves used during food preparation can
be a source of transmission of pathogenic bacteria that can lead to
very serious illness.
To avoid cross-contamination with other foods and spread of
potentially harmful bacteria, I strongly suggest adhering to the
following recommendations:
- Use a designated cutting board for raw meat and poultry, and
never use this board for other food preparation, such as cutting
up vegetables. Color coding your cutting boards is a simple way
to distinguish between them
- To sanitize your cutting board, be sure to use hot water and
detergent. Simply wiping it off with a rag will not destroy the
bacteria
- For an inexpensive, safe, and effective kitchen counter and
cutting board sanitizer, use 3% hydrogen peroxide and vinegar.
Keep each liquid in a separate spray bottle, and then spray the
surface with one, followed by the other, and wipe off
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Coconut oil can also be used to clean, treat, and sanitize
your wooden cutting boards. It's a powerful destroyer of all
kinds of microbes, from viruses to bacteria to protozoa. Olive
oil is another alternative. The fats will also help condition
the wood
Antibacterial Detergents Can Do More Harm Than Good
More at:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/04/30/kitchen-drug-resistant-bacteria.aspx
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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