Animal Stress and Food Safety Risks
Could increased stress on farm animals translate into increased food safety risks?
A study published last month in the journal “Foodborne Pathogens and Disease” suggests that it can.
Marcos H. Rostagno, an animal scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), published the review titled, “Can Stress in Farm Animals Increase Food Safety Risk,” and he identified ways that animal stress may be related to the prevalence of foodborne pathogens today.
For starters, stress can affect the pH balance in an animal’s stomach, creating an environment that is more hospitable to foodborne pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter.
Stress has also been shown to make animals more susceptible to other types of infections.
Of course, once an animal is infected, it carries those pathogens into the slaughterhouse, potentially contaminating other carcasses and spreading disease into the food supply chain.
According to a post today by Helena Bottemiller at Food Safety News, the relationship of animal stress and pathogen prevalence warrants more study. Bottemiller explains recent studies have shown that “a substantial number” of pigs, cattle, and poultry are constantly carrying foodborne pathogens into slaughterhouses.
“It is imperative that the issue receives more research attention in the interests of optimizing animal welfare and minimizing losses in product yield and quality, as well as food safety risks to consumers,” Rostagno says in the post.
Need more convincing? Read “E.coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection,” by Michael Moss, in yesterday’s New York Times.
The article focuses on the story of Stephanie Smith, a 22-year-old dancer from Minnesota, who spent nine weeks in a coma and became paralyzed from the waist down after eating a grilled hamburger in 2007. Moss points out critical –and apparently, typical —lapses in the meat industry supplier network that allow tainted products to reach consumers. (And remember, it wasn’t that long ago that we saw E.coli contamination in cookie dough, too.)
It’s clear that the national food supply remains vulnerable to serious contamination problems, and once again, as Moss points out in his article, it’s also clear that it is not sufficient for corporations to shift supply chain risk mitigation to the consumer–particularly when we know that, in light of new research, certain food safety warnings may be inadequate or are often disregarded.
