In the case of cheap chickens from Aldi and Lidl, an increased risk of resistant germs was confirmed.
A study reveals the "alarming results."
Experts find
multi-resistant pathogens (MRE)
in
cheap chicken
from Lidl and Aldi.
Also
reserve antibiotics
are of the
resistances
involved.
Experts are sounding the
alarm
about the study results
.
Munich -
Resistant germs
are not only a problem in hospitals and a
health risk
, but also in
animal husbandry
.
A study has now examined chicken meat from the three largest EU poultry farms.
The chickens were bought from the factory as well as from
Lidl
and
Aldi
.
Supermarket chicken from Aldi and Lidl under the microscope - cheap meat has the largest market share
The analysis of the
supermarket meat
was carried out using 165 samples, which means that the results cannot be classified as representative.
However, the initiators of the study, Germanwatch and doctors against factory farming, did not expect or strive for this.
"Rather, they wanted to refer again to the system of
industrial animal husbandry
in
poultry production
in Europe and its possible consequences," Welt summarizes the goals of the initiators.
The clients of the investigation continue to say that they "deliberately only bought cheap meat because that has the largest market share."
Every second chicken from the discounter is contaminated with resistant germs https://t.co/IahPHjN1WL pic.twitter.com/NUw9mM3ENJ
- WORLD (@world) October 28, 2020
“Alarming results” in a study on cheap chicken by Lidl and Aldi
The first shocking result of the
study
from the National Reference Center for Gram-negative Hospital Pathogens at the
Ruhr University Bochum
: Every second sample of the cheap chickens is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant germs.
If you
buy
your chicken from
Lidl
or
Aldi
, you have a 50-50 chance of bringing home a product that is hazardous to health.
For Reinhild Benning, an
agricultural expert
from Germanwatch, the
second result of the study is more
serious:
Resistance
to
reserve antibiotics was also found
in more than every third chicken.
Reserve antibiotics are used in medical treatment when conventional drugs are not working.
“These are alarming results,” said Benning.
Video: Quarks names three rules against multi-resistant germs
They were discovered in cheap chickens from Aldi and Lidl - but what are resistant germs?
In order to understand what
resistant germs
are, one has to deal with the subject of
antibiotics
.
Antibiotics are drugs that are given when the human body needs help fighting a bacterial infection.
These antibiotics are made from microorganisms (including fungi).
However, bacteria have a natural protection against these "foreign organisms", a so-called
resistance
.
Usually this affects not just one antibiotic, but several.
This means that these bacteria are also called
multi-resistant pathogens (MRE)
.
Only the targeted and appropriate use of medication can help to contain the same.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) provides information on this.
Cheap meat at discounters like Lidl and Aldi - Too much antibiotics in industrial animal husbandry?
It is precisely through the
treatment of animals
with antibiotics, mostly in industrial animal husbandry, that the
multi-resistant pathogens can
also spread among people.
"Veterinarians in the EU use more antibiotics for animals than human medicine for sick people," explains Reinhild Benning.
However, supermarkets and discounters such as
Lidl
or
Aldi
often rely on cheap chicken.
This has repeatedly caused
public
discussions
in
recent years
: Experts found the worrying germs in discount meat as early as the end of 2019.
(jey)