Blog #17: Foodborne Illness and Antibiotic Use in Our Food

My husband and I went out for breakfast this morning, and I made a terribly unhealthy choice and got the chicken and waffles. Thinking about the chicken that I ate, of which I do not know the origin because I was at a restaurant and did not see the original packaging, there was likely a lot of intervention that took place before it made its way to my plate. The chicken was likely given antibiotics prior to slaughter since the U.S. still uses nontherapeutic antibiotics in commercial farming, thus increasing my chances of being exposed to newly evolved super bacteria. In the process of slaughter, the meat itself may have been exposed to animal feces, increasing the probability of exposure to microbes. The meat itself had to be stored below a certain temperature to meet food safety standards both during shipment and storage. The restaurant was responsible for cooking the meat to an appropriate temperature to hopefully kill any surviving bacteria.

In clinical this semester, I am in a pediatric clinic that sees newborns up through adolescents. The newborn population is especially vulnerable to foodborne illness as their immune systems have not yet fully developed, and they have not yet developed immunity to most microbes. They are also at higher risk of severe illness and death as their bodies cannot handle extreme illness and water losses. At work, I see elderly patients that are also at risk for severe complications from foodborne illness. Many of the seniors in our program live independently and prepare food for themselves. I actually had a geriatric patient recently that presented to the clinic for vomiting. While obtaining her history, I learned that she had left out eggs and sausage overnight, which she ate for breakfast. I of course proceeded to provide some extensive education about foodborne illness and proper food handling and storage. Fortunately, the illness was mild and she recovered without intervention, but it could have ended much worse for her!

From what I have seen in the grocery store for the past several years, many products now advertise if they are antibiotic-free. As a nursing professional, it is crucial that I ensure my patients know what this means and why it is important to avoid products that do not say that they were produced without the use of antibiotics. Since antibiotics are used more widely in farming than in health care in the U.S., a large percentage of antibiotic-resistant organisms likely come from use of nontherpeutic antibiotics in commercial farming. With these new resistant organisms, current recommended antibiotic treatments will be ineffective. This affects virtually everyone on the planet. It is difficult for those developing the pharmaceuticals to keep up with evolving microorganisms. Patients must be educated to properly avoid not only antibiotics, but also the dangerous microbes that are created as a result of their use.