60 Minutes Story Bring Awareness To Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria In The Pork Industry!

The public health issue of antibiotic overuse in the livestock industry causing drug-resistant strains of bacteria in the meat products we consume is not a new story. It is for this reason that some industries, particularly the poultry industry, has been increasingly advertising free-range and antibiotic-free eggs and poultry.

But watch the video in the attached story below and you’ll question whether the USDA is operating for our benefit, the consumer, or is actually being run by lobbyists for the livestock industry and their farmers.

Information and education continue to be our best defense against unknowingly harming ourselves and our families.

𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘, 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 & 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘

You can’t see, smell, or taste harmful bacteria that may cause illness. In every step of food preparation, follow the four steps of the Food Safe Families campaign to keep food safe:

𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 — 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻.
𝗦𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 — 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲.
𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗸 — 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.
𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹 — 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗹𝘆.

𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚-

• Purchase refrigerated or frozen items after selecting your non-perishables.

• Never choose meat or poultry in packaging that is torn or leaking.

• Do not buy food past “Sell-By,” “Use-By,” or other expiration dates.

𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘-

• Always refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours—1 hour when the temperature is above 90 °F (32.2 ºC).

• Check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer with an appliance thermometer. The refrigerator should be at 40 °F (4.4 ºC) or below and the freezer at 0 °F (-17.7 ºC) or below.

• Cook or freeze fresh poultry, fish, ground meats, and variety meats within 2 days; other beef, veal, lamb, or pork, within 3 to 5 days.

• Perishable food such as meat and poultry should be wrapped securely to maintain quality and to prevent meat juices from getting onto other food.

• To maintain quality when freezing meat and poultry in its original package, wrap the package again with foil or plastic wrap that is recommended for the freezer.

• Canned foods are safe indefinitely as long as they are not exposed to freezing temperatures, or temperatures above 90 °F. If the cans look ok, they are safe to use. Discard cans that are dented, rusted, or swollen. High-acid canned food (tomatoes, fruits) will keep their best quality for 12 to 18 months; low-acid canned food (meats, vegetables) for 2 to 5 years.

𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡-

• Always wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling food.

• Don’t cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food. After cutting raw meats, wash cutting board, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water.

• Cutting boards, utensils, and countertops can be sanitized by using a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water.

• Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator.

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚-

• Refrigerator: The refrigerator allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing meat and poultry juices do not drip onto other food.

• Cold Water: For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag. Submerge in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook immediately after thawing.

• Microwave: Cook meat and poultry immediately after microwave thawing.

𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚-

• Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F (62.8 ºC) as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.

• Ground meats: Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F (71.1 ºC) as measured with a food thermometer.

• Poultry: Cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 165 °F (73.9 °C) as measured with a food thermometer.

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚-

• Hot food should be held at 140 °F (60 °C) or warmer.

• Cold food should be held at 40 °F (4.4 ºC) or colder.

• When serving food at a buffet, keep food hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays.

• Keep food cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice or use small serving trays and replace them often.

• Perishable food should not be left out more than 2 hours at room temperature—1 hour when the temperature is above 90 °F (32.2 ºC).

𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬-

As consumers, it is extremely difficult to know where our food comes from and in what conditions our food was produced. We trust the USDA always has our best interests in mind, and, for the most part, they do. But government is often, by its very nature, flawed and industry lobbyists have one mission guiding them— to protect the companies for which they work.

To help safeguard ourselves against illness from food borne bacteria, it is critical we handle, store, cook and serve our food using the above safe food handling guidelines.

𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟲𝟬 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗪!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-overuse-of-antibiotics-on-farms-worsening-the-spread-of-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-60-minutes-2020-01-05/