PCRM Survey Addresses Contaminants On Meat And Poultry
This PCRM 2001 survey found that the majority of Americans are unaware that feces are the source of foodborne pathogens on meat and poultry including salmonella, campylobacter, and E.coli.
According to this study, 84% of Americans do not know that feces on meat and poultry are the source of foodborne pathogens such as salmonella, E.coli, and campylobacter.
Survey respondents were asked, “When salmonella and other disease-causing bacteria are found on meat and poultry, which of the following do you think BEST describes where these bacteria originally came from?”
- They came from animal blood (10%)
- They came from dirty hands (19%)
- They are naturally present in the meat (17%)
- They are naturally present in the animal’s skin (9%)
- They came from animal feces (16%)
- They came from dirty air in a slaughterhouse (15%)
- Didn’t think any of these answers were right or didn’t know (13%)
Respondents with college degrees, a household income equal to or greater than $50,000, or residence in a metropolitan area were more likely to know that feces are the originating source of disease-causing bacteria.