Antibiotic-resistant E. coli detected in supermarket chicken

Researchers have found traces of a banned antibiotic - fluoroquionolone - in chicken sold in Canberra supermarkets and butchers.

Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) took 281 samples from chicken sold in three major supermarkets and a butcher in Canberra and found evidence of the banned antibiotic, ABC News has reported.

They also found that, in samples contaminated with Escherichia coli, almost two-thirds of the bacteria were resistant to some form of antibiotic. The researchers were particularly concerned to discover four samples that were resistant to fluoroquinolone antibiotics, which are prohibited for use with animals designated for human consumption in Australia, the ABC said.

“It would be worth the relevant authorities going back through the steps of the processing to see where the introduction of antibiotic-resistant bacteria might have occurred,” researcher Belinda Vangchhia told the ABC.

Fluoroquinolone has never been approved for use in animals for human consumption, the ABC says, and Australia enjoys a reputation of having low levels of fluoroquinolone resistance.

Read the full ABC report here.