Food News

Testers found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 14 out of 23 chicken breast fillets purchased in supermarkets. This worrying result is due to the continued widespread use of these substances in poultry farming.

When foodborne bacteria develop resistance through the use of antibiotics in animal feed, this also poses an increasing health risk to humans. This is particularly true if the individual's immune system is already weakened. If the antibiotics prescribed by a doctor to combat a pathogen are no longer effective, the consequences can be fatal. If such germs are transmitted in the kitchen, for example due to poor hygiene, they are very difficult to combat.

The number of antibiotic substances is limited and continues to decline due to increasing resistance. Even now, it is increasingly necessary to resort to so-called reserve antibiotics. As the name suggests, these should really only be administered in emergencies when all common active ingredients fail. The development of ‘new’ antibiotics is a lengthy and expensive process.

Our current arsenal was generally discovered in nature and made usable for humans, for example penicillin. Chemically modified compounds were then developed from these natural active substances. Scientists see a certain future in targeted molecular design, for example for NRPS (non-ribosomal peptide synthetases). These are genetically engineered, giant enzyme complexes. Using AI, international gene databases are searched for protein structures that could potentially have an antibiotic effect.

It is best to pay close attention to hygiene when processing poultry meat in production and preparing it in the kitchen. Chopping boards, knives and all surfaces that come into contact with raw meat must be thoroughly cleaned and, if necessary, disinfected after use. This also applies to your own hands. It is advisable to wear disposable gloves when handling raw meat. All dishes containing poultry meat must always be cooked thoroughly.

YOUR PLUS: The effectiveness of routine cleaning and disinfection measures in commercial operations should be regularly monitored and recorded as part of an HACCP concept. The AGROLAB GROUP laboratories offer various sterile test utensils for this purpose. These are then evaluated and assessed independently in the laboratory under accredited conditions. Our laboratories also examine retained samples of food from communal catering facilities.

Author: Dr Frank Mörsberger, AGROLAB GROUP