Meat from British pigs has been found to contain a livestock strain of MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. In tests of 97 samples, three were found to be infected, from Asda and Sainsbury's.
The investigation, conducted by The Guardian and the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, also found a loophole in the regulations that allows pork infected with the bug, MRSA CC398, to be imported from Denmark.
Experts warned that without action, the bug could become entrenched here, as it has done over the past decade in Denmark, where two-thirds of pig farms are now thought to be infected, and 12,000 people have contracted illness as a result.
The bug is not as virulent as some other strains, but is known to cause persistent, unpleasant infections. At least six people in Denmark have died.
Professor Tim Lang, of the Centre for Food Policy at City University London, called for greater vigilance in how animals are reared and transported. 'You may get cheap meat but in the long term it's going to add to your public health problems,' he said.
Sustain was a founder member of the Alliance to Save our Antibiotics, which campaigns to stop the routine use of antibiotics in livestock farming.
Read the full story on The Guardian website here.
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
