Supermarket meat safe: Australian study finds low levels of antibiotic resistance
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has concluded an exhaustive national surveillance project, providing the most detailed data to date on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within the country's raw meat supply.
The study, conducted by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), represents the most comprehensive surveillance of its kind to date. Researchers analyzed over 4,100 samples of raw beef, pork, and chicken collected from capital cities across every state and territory between late 2022 and mid-2023.
The survey focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global health threat where bacteria evolve to withstand the drugs designed to kill them. The results suggest that Australia’s current agricultural and medical stewardship programs are largely effective.
Approximately two-thirds of the bacteria isolated from the meat samples showed no resistance to any of the antibiotics tested. Additionally, resistance to antibiotics classified as "critically important" to human medicine was found to be very low across all meat categories. Instances of "superbugs" resistant to multiple drugs were uncommon. When detected, they typically involved older antibiotics with lower importance to modern human health.
While the report was overwhelmingly positive, it did highlight a specific area for ongoing concern. Researchers found moderate resistance to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in Campylobacter bacteria found on chicken.
Interestingly, ciprofloxacin has never been approved for use in Australian food-producing animals. Officials noted that this finding mirrors global trends and reinforces the need for "One Health" monitoring.
Experts emphasize that while the results are good news, they are not a signal to stop being vigilant. Moving forward, FSANZ intends to use this data to refine the National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, ensuring that Australian meat remains among the safest in the world.
Source:
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