If the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has its way, poultry products in your grocery might soon warn human food consumers about feces contamination.
Kudos to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)! They petitioned the USDA on Mach 14, 2013 “to declare feces an adulterant in poultry products and label products to warn consumers about likely contamination.”
From the PCRM website…
“Nearly half the chicken products sold in supermarkets are contaminated with feces, according to independent laboratory testing commissioned by the Physicians Committee in 2012. The study analyzed chicken samples from 15 grocery store chains in 10 major U.S. cities. The Physicians Committee’s petition explains that even thorough cooking does not remove feces from meat.
“Feces may contain round worms, hair worms, tape worms, and leftover bits of whatever the animal excreting the feces may have eaten, not to mention the usual fecal components of digestive juices and various chemicals that the animal was in the process of excreting,” the petition states.
“The presence of feces can shut down a neighborhood pool for days,” says Joseph Gonzales, R.D., staff dietitian with the Physicians Committee. “No one wants to swim in feces, much less eat it. Consumers deserve to know that the chicken breasts or ground beef they’re purchasing is likely contaminated with feces.”
I agree – consumer do deserve to know.
So do pet food consumers. All pet food consumers deserve to know the quality (and country of origin) of each ingredient in pet foods and treats.
Just for kicks, let’s imagine the warnings that could be (should be) put on the labels of pet foods that contain rendered waste ingredients…
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
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Gina
April 8, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Haha, well…that’s a bit dramatic 🙂 There is a big difference in e.coli/salmonella and actual feces. Birds go through scalding water, are then eviscerated, then go into chilled water tanks to reduce temperature quickly. Feces or fecal contamination is actually a zero tolerance USDA contaminant on the lines before and after going into the chiller. If sal/e. coli shows up in finished poultry, it is usually from cross contamination and not from actual physical still brown and on the chicken feces. I don’t think any of these “physicians” have bothered to research a poultry facility.
Mickey
April 8, 2013 at 4:13 pm
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. PCRM is a fanatical animal rights group that seeks to remove eggs, milk, meat, and seafood from the American diet, and to eliminate the use of animals in scientific research. Despite its operational and financial ties to other animal activist groups and its close relationship with violent zealots, PCRM has successfully duped the media and much of the general public into believing that its pronouncements about the superiority of vegetarian-only diets represent the opinion of the medical community.
“Less than 5 percent of PCRM’s members are physicians”, Newsweek wrote in February 2004.
Tammt Baugh
April 8, 2013 at 11:20 pm
I’m all with them then. Have you ever visited PETA? If not and you think it is very ok to torture animals then you should really visit the sight. You may not be so cold after that. Really what sense does it make to test ANYTHING on animals when their DNA is totally different than ours? It means pretty much it may happen to animals, it may happen to us. But no one really knows for sure anything except torturing animals is cruel. And they all dewserve a lot better.
Reader
April 9, 2013 at 4:04 am
PETA is a good idea in principle, but like any movement that acts out to extreme, it eventually undermines it’s own message. I think it’s valuable to learn that PCRM appears to have another agenda, apparently to convince consumers to turn to veganism. However cleaniness of the poultry industry is also a very important health and safety issue. What is the truth?? We can only trust the providers and regulatory agencies (so how much good do they do us??)
.
Truly corporate and impersonally run agribusinesses can not be trusted to handle animals ethically and humanely, much less to ensure ultimate safety. That is certainly one extreme and a big reality. The other is the fact that some humans do require certain amino acids derived from meat and other values received from a broad range of food sources. Our ancestors would not have survived for centuries without all the resources available to them throughout, regionally, and throughout the seasons, etc. By the same token, it is becoming more clear everyday that safety in our food production system is being sacraficed and overlooked in the interest of profit. The questions are, do we have more assurances with organic food? Should we truly shop through only locally owned and operated agribusinesses? And how should we make decisions that impact the health of our families and ourselves? As I get older I am able to eat more and more vegan and less animal based products. Unfortunately my pets can’t. And I also appreciate that I’ve been made more and more aware of the reasons why this is an important choice. There is another side to the discussion however, since few topics are ever simple and black and white. Unnecessary research, especially when it comes to cosemetics and non-essentials is inappropriate on animate beings of course. Medical research is yet another discussion which I’m certainly not qualified to defend or not. PETA unfortunately takes an extreme position, on the one hand, protesting against animal cruelty (with which everyone can agree)to ideally discourage the ownership of all companion animals eventually (yes, this is really true). I think what most issues boil down to, is that each person should be entitled to act within the definition of their own conscience. Rather than having broad range restrictions placed upon them by other people, especially when the goal of those restrictions, comes about through the extreme distortion of the original message.
Ann
April 9, 2013 at 10:53 am
I have been a member of Physicians for Responsible Medicine for ten years. They are not a violent radical group and I would like to see you substantiate that with actual incidents rather than wild claims.
I am also a member of the National Anti Vivisection Society. Here is their position on animal research:
“….. researchers will have a much better “view” overall when priority is placed with developing and using human-relevant models to study human health and disease. As toxicologist Thomas Hartung, Director of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said, “we are not 70 kilogram rats.” As long as that is the case, the dangers of extrapolating data from animals to people will continue. Because clinical failure can be explained in part by the inadequacies of animal models to fully represent human disease, and because some models are chosen out of convenience rather than careful planning, researchers need to be more honest about the limitations of the models they are working with and do more to move research into the species of interest — humans– in the first place.”
For more information see:
Bolker, J. “There’s more to life than rats and flies.” Nature, November 1, 2012, Vol. 491, p 31-33.
Even the National Institutes of Health have recommended the following: “The Working Group of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils has presented its report, finding that a majority of biomedical research conducted on chimpanzees owned or supported by NIH should end….”
http://www.navs.org/pages/news/news-working-group-report-recommends-end-to-most-invasive-chimpanzee-research
Tammt Baugh
April 8, 2013 at 11:14 pm
And why should any Physician have to examine the poultry factory going on? Come on now poop is poop. And I for one don’t want to eat it much less serve it to my loved ones!! I have no idea what you are eating. But we eat chicken every other night. Might not be for much longer!
Gina
April 9, 2013 at 2:35 pm
It’s not poop!!!! They are referencing a study that shows the presence of Salmonella, not actual poop. If you are a physician you should be able to tell the difference! Not saying either is good, but that graphic is ridiculous and incorrect! Maybe if it showed a germ, but poop. Please, get educated.
Ann
April 9, 2013 at 2:12 pm
If you think that’s “a bit dramatic”… I don’t think you’ve bothered to research a poultry facility either.
Gina
April 9, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Touche Ann. I’ve spent 5 years in quality assurance in a large poultry facility….5 to be exact. 2 in the state of Arkansas, one in Pennsylvania, and one in Georgia. I’ve also got a animal science/poultry degree with a master’s degree in international food law from Michigan state. I’ve worked in petfood, poultry, and now a fortune 500 human food country where I do international regulatory work. So, I think I’ve done my research. I’m trying to educate people so they can get an idea of how industry works, however I’ve found many to just shoot back with childish comments like yours.
Ann
April 9, 2013 at 3:37 pm
Yes, well I’ve seen how they work too. Call my comment whatever you want, but I call ’em like I see ’em.
Reader
April 9, 2013 at 3:41 pm
Well having worked in Arkansas especially in the Poultry industry, okay so tell us what’s the truth? How safe IS this commercial chicken? I’ve heard that the consumer should always wash the poultry before cooking (obviously). Does this take care of all problems? Is this enough?
So, rather than just going back and forth with readers, set us straight. Is it not true that the “live product” is “raised” and “handled” in not too a humane manner? Is it just the nature of any industry-for-profit business? I’ve seen some documentaries that don’t portray such a good image, and there was no particular “ax” to grind except to promote more food safety.
.
Curiously, there is now a media ad campaign running by “Foster Farms” of all companies (!!!) stressing the beautiful, relaxed and happy way it currently handling it’s “live product”. I think it would be good to hear from more insiders before we all (as suggested) jump to hasty conclusions.
Ann
April 9, 2013 at 4:09 pm
All of you chicken poop defenders, enjoy eating your chicken poop:
http://www.earthsave.org/health/what_about_chicken.htm
Athena
April 8, 2013 at 4:12 pm
It doesn’t sound that ‘dramatic’ to me…I’ve read about those filthy water tanks…as for cross contamination, something has to be there to cross contaminate…and I’ll bet they HAVE bothered to research a poultry facility…what we see or don’t see on a chicken doesn’t mean the contaminant isn’t there, otherwise we wouldn’t constantly see recalls on meat products. And the USDA and its zero tolerance for the contaminants? I don’t trust that at all…sadly, I’ve SEEN some of what the USDA lets slide…
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Lesliek
April 8, 2013 at 7:44 pm
I love those warning labels ! Talk about truth in labeling .
Ellie
April 8, 2013 at 7:56 pm
This is what FDA says is fit for human consumption? What a waste of tax dollars!
April
April 8, 2013 at 9:59 pm
Visit one of those places where they raise those poor chickens and butcher them, then tell me how you think this is “over dramatic”. All they care about is the money, not the animal and not those who eat the meat. Eat organic and you won’t have to worry about poopy meat.
Tammt Baugh
April 8, 2013 at 11:17 pm
How do you know organic is not equalling poopy meat? It’s what we eat. But isn’t chicken chicken, and chicken poop of organic just as poopy as inorganic poopy chicken meat?
melissa
April 8, 2013 at 10:55 pm
Thanks again Susan for everything, I didn’t find your site early enough to save some of my best animal friends. But, now I have powerful knowledge, thanks to you. The b1 (thiamine) has ALMOST recovered two of my oldest feline girls. It’s probably too much damage done (seizures and disability) At least now I know.
Ellie
April 9, 2013 at 3:48 am
Have any of you seen the conditions that chicken are raised under these days? Each chicken is kept in tiny cage. Their feet never touch the outside of the cage. They are pumped full of steroids along with antibiotics and hormones. The tip of the beak is cut off. Have you seen the size of a typical chicken breast sold in most grocery stores compared to a naturally raised chicken? Those chickens that are pumped full of steroids cannot even stand if taken out of the cage due to weakened muscles and the weight of their bodies. It is disgraceful.
The chickens are taken to slaughter in more tiny cages. Many have broken bones and many die on the way. Does that matter to the slaughter house? No. The filthy chickens (dead and alive) are all thrown into the same area to be processed.
If your local grocery store sells naturally raised chicken along with the typical mass produced chicken take a look someday. See how you feel about eating that huge steroid filled chicken breast then.
The only way pictures have been gotten of the horrible way these birds are raised and processed is by having employees secretly take pictures because most of these facilities are off limits to the public. We would not want the public to actually see what they are eating now would we?
Gina
April 9, 2013 at 3:20 pm
You are referencing laying hens. Broiler chickens are raised in chicken houses with all their body parts in tact. Steriods are not used just ask the USDA. I have worked on a farm and I can attest. Chicken lines such as Cobb-Vantress are genetically chosen to make bigger breasts and do not come from genetic modification or cloning, but by selective breeding. There are documentaries out there including food inc. that show chicken houses, what you are referencing is a totally different topic. I just think that making blanket statements based on ignorance that degrad a whole industry is unfair and spreading untruths. There are always a bad few, but putting everyone in the same category is ignorant. Also making statements about places and industries that you yourself have never set food in is insulting to those of us in the industry that work hard to bring you safe and quality food, who have animal science degrees as well as extensive animal welfare training and last but not least a soul.
Ellie
April 9, 2013 at 9:15 pm
Farms? You call those farms? Chicken is mass produced unless you are referring to the very few naturally raised grass fed chickens that are available today.
I live in a farm area where chickens used to be raised. Chickens raised on farms are thing of the past. The chicken “farms” today are huge self contained buildings. Chickens never see the light of day.
KathCA
April 9, 2013 at 10:46 am
Ever hear of “Fecal Soup”? It’s a term used by chicken processors for the bath chickens are washed in during their cleaning and prepping procedure.
I saw this years ago on a TV show, maybe 60 Minutes? It’s a pretty disgusting thing to see.
Liz Bennett
April 9, 2013 at 1:42 pm
Love the labels, too funny but should be there.
Pacific Sun
April 9, 2013 at 3:54 pm
Sorry, but I think we’re also straying off the point. Getting side tracked on the veracity of the poultry industry. The focus should be on what is the quality of the poultry being used IN pet food? Whenever these subjects are brought up, it doesn’t mean that the instances apply to all poultry, all the type. But that there is such a thing a “seconds” (probably even “thirds”) in any food production business. This catagory (may or may not) represent food not especially fit for human consumption (for many reasons). Contamination from unhealthy sources (whether fecal or other issues) can be a reason to degrade and divert the product to other suppliers. The point is, that there is ALWAYS less concern about whether a pet gets sick, or of the long term ramifications. As we’ve seen time and again, it is nearly impossible to tie unfit food to the imperfect health of the pet. I think Susan is just bringing to our attention, yet another potential defect in pet food. Things to think about. Why feeding whole food, as we do for our families, is probably the safer road to be taking when possible. Next, find the most reputable PF companies out there with no recall history, etc. This subject does have to become about defending the entire poultry industry, or not.
Jess
April 10, 2013 at 11:50 pm
Love the labels….I’d love to print them and stick them all over the nasty things we all know contain them!