10 Gross Facts About Supermarket Meat

When you head to the grocery store to stock up on meat, you may not be returning home with quite what you expected.

Here are 10 gross facts about supermarket meat.

Number 10. Meat expiration dates can be changed. A chicken incident in New York involving a new expiration date being slapped over a passed one revealed that the state is fine with the practice. Overall, the FDA isn't too strict about selling food past its posted deadline either, saying it's really more of a store tool than a rule.


Number 9. Certain chickens are fed some messed-up stuff. Chicken feathers from poultry factories were examined and traces of numerous unexpected substances were found. They included anti-depressants, pain killers, caffeine, and banned antibiotics.

Number 8. Carbon monoxide makes meat look pinker than it is. That's why many in the meat industry pump their packages full of it before they're offered to the public. It's said the amounts are too low to pose a danger, but the FDA has been petitioned to put an end to the practice.

Number 7. Reportedly 70 percent of ground beef contains pink slime.

Number 6. Chickens are getting fatter and less nutritious. According to a UK study, over the past 40 years the fat content of the average chicken has risen over 260 percent. They also have more than 30 percent less protein. Experts say unhealthy feed and cramped living quarters are to blame.

Number 5. North Carolina uses a lot of livestock antibiotics. One report noted the amount administered to cattle in the state surpasses the total quantity used by all humans living in the United States.

Number 4. Urinary tract infections have been linked to eating chicken. Up to 90 percent of the infections are caused by E. coli bacteria, and supermarket factory-farmed chicken is the suspected source of most of it. A study found a 71 percent match among the strains found in people and America's favorite poultry.

Number 3. Testing for things like horse meat doesn't happen often. Even though there have international instances of people finding horse meat being passed off as ground beef, it's not something that's typically tested for here. If a shipment looks particularly shady, the USDA will order an examination, but the occurrence is rare.

Number 2. Cold cuts are considered a 'high risk' product. That's largely due to the frequency with which the bacteria can multiply even under refrigeration. The source of the bacteria has been identified as deli slicers, not the meat itself. You may not be able to inspect the store's equipment, but you can protect yourself with mustard. One study reported the condiment killed Listeria within 2 hours.

Number 1. Fecal bacteria was found in over half the ground turkey tested. The study was conducted by Consumer Reports. Their scientists also found other contaminants in many of the turkey samples including E. coli and salmonella.