Bad Pork

Research has been done on pork chop and ground pork samples from six cities around the U.S. Of the 198 samples (148 pork chop and 50 ground pork), Yersinia enterocolitica, was found in 69%. Yersinia, which infects about 100,000 Americans each year, is a bacterium that can cause fever, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The other contaminations were considerably lower than the rate for Yersinia; Enterococcus (11%), Staphylococcus aureus (7%), salmonella (4%), and Listeria monocytogenes (3%). Enterococcus can indicate fecal contamination and can cause problems such as urinary-tract infections. Listeria causes the infection, Listeriosis, which is the leading cause of death among foodborne bacterial pathogens.
Some of the bacteria samples were resistant to antibiotics used to treat people. This is beacuase of the frequent low dose of antibiotics used in the raising of pigs. Of the 132 samples of Yersinia, 121 were resistant to one class of antibiotic, and 52 were resistant to two or more. Of the 19 samples containing Enterococcus, 12 were resistant to at least one class. Of the 14 samples positive for staph, 13 were resistant to at least one class, and 9 were resistant to two or more. Lastly, of the 8 samples consisting of salmonella, 6 were resitant to at least one class, and 3 were resistant to at least 5 types.
A second test was done on a seperate, 240 samples of pork. The controversial drug, Ractopamine, which encourages lean muscle growth, was found in 20% of the samples. It is legal in the U.S, but banned in the European Union, China, and Taiwan. Therefore, those countries do not accept meats containing Ractopamine.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), the member of Congress has been the strongest voice for controlling antibiotic resistant bacteria in food. She stated, " I have legislation awaiting a vote in Congress to address this problem once and for all — and it’s time we pass it into law".

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/pork0113.htm
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/bad-pork-cu/#more-139025