Kenyan Supermarkets Selling Pork and Chicken Contaminated by Superbugs, Study Warns

A study whose results were released on Wednesday found high levels of contamination in many meat samples across Kenya.

The report by the World Animal Protection said pork and chicken brands sold in supermarkets had the highest levels of contamination.

95 percent of meat sold in supermarkets in the country was found to contain drug-resistant bacteria, commonly referred to as superbugs.

Superbugs are strains of bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi resistant to most drugs used to treat the infections they cause.

“The results showed a high prevalence of bacterial contaminants in both pork at 98.4 percent and poultry at 96.6 percent,” said Dr. Victor Yamo, campaigns manager at World Animal Protection.

187 pork samples and 206 chicken samples obtained from six supermarkets in six counties namely Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru, Laikipia, Uasin Gishu, and Nyeri were examined in the survey.

“Some of these organisms might not cause disease in humans, but if you have salmonella, then there is the possibility of contamination. Of critical importance is that the disease they cause affects old and young people and sometimes can lead to death at a certain level,” added Dr. Yamo.

It was established that there is a connection between how animals are treated and the quality of their meat, with Dr. Yamo explaining that misuse of antibiotics in the food chain is impacting public health.

“We need to understand the interconnectivity of all this. For example, when people learn there is a problem with meat, they start buying vegetables, yet it is these vegetables that are used as feeds by some for the animals… In another 8 years, we will be doubling what we consume in terms of antibiotics and that is a worrying trend,” Dr. Yamo said.

The study further revealed that 60 percent of the meat in supermarkets had superbugs, caused by the high usage of antibiotics to treat animals.

The analysis on meat samples was done at the Centre for Microbiology Research at Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) between April 2020 and July 2020.