UPDATE 1-Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in ground turkey-report

* FDA says "major public health threat"

* Dangerous bacteria found on 90 percent of turkey tested (Adds FDA comments, paragraphs 11-13)

By Carey Gillam

KANSAS CITY, April 30 (Reuters) - Dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been found in ground turkey on U.S. grocery shelves across a variety of brands and stores located in 21 states, according to a report by a consumer watchdog organization.

Of the 257 samples of ground turkey tested, more than half were found to be positive for fecal bacteria and overall, 90 percent were contaminated with one or more types of disease-causing organisms, many of which proved resistant to one or more common antibiotics, Consumer Reports found.

The non-profit, independent product-testing organization said in the June issue of its magazine that the sampling marked the first time it had conducted a laboratory analysis of ground turkey, a popular consumer alternative to hamburger. It was alarmed by the results.

"Some bacteria that end up on ground turkey, including E. coli and staph aureus, can cause not only food poisoning but also urinary, bloodstream, and other infections," said a Consumer Reports statement on its findings.

The group said it samples ground turkey from 27 different brands including major and store brands.

Turkeys, like other livestock in the United States, are commonly given repeated low doses of antibiotics in an effort to keep the animals healthy and help promote growth. But there has been growing concern that widespread use of antibiotics in animals that are not sick is speeding the development of antibiotic resistance.

The National Turkey Federation said the findings were sensationalized on a sampling that was "extremely small," and said that blaming use of antibiotics in animals was "misleading."

"There is more than one way they (harmful bacteria) can wind up on food animals," said National Turkey Federation vice president Lisa Picard. "In fact, it's so common in the environment, studies have shown that generic E.coli and MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) can even be found on about 20 percent of computer keyboards."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also found widespread contamination, discovering antibiotic resistant E coli, salmonella and other harmful bacteria in turkey, ground beef, pork chops and chicken in sampling done in 2011.

The food safety regulator says resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is "a major public health threat," and last year issued voluntary guidelines for animal health and animal agriculture industries aimed at limiting the antibiotic use in livestock.

The agency has rebuffed efforts to mandate reduced usage but says the voluntary route is faster.

"FDA believes these drugs should be used only in situations where they are necessary for ensuring animal health, and done so under the oversight of a veterinarian," FDA said in a statement.

It added the Consumer Reports findings were misleading and said antimicrobial resistance is a "complex issue with many causes."

U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat, last month reintroduced legislation that would ban non-therapeutic uses of eight types of antibiotics in food animal production.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has issued a warning about antibiotic resistance infections, saying they are becoming increasingly difficult to treat and more infected people are likely to die.

"Humans don't consume antibiotics every day to prevent disease and neither should healthy animals," said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of the Food Safety and Sustainability Group at Consumer Reports. "Prudent use of antibiotics should be required to stem the public health crisis generated from the reduced effectiveness of antibiotics." (Reporting By Carey Gillam; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

View the original article here

Family sedans losing ground to crossovers on convenience, price

A Toyota Camry is seen at the Chicago Auto Show February 9, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/John Gress

By Deepa Seetharaman and Bernie Woodall

DETROIT | Wed May 1, 2013 8:20pm EDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - Family sedans like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are losing ground this year as American families and empty-nest baby boomers find they would rather handle life's daily chores in a crossover.

Midsize sedans remain the single largest segment of the U.S. auto industry. But their share of the industry has shrunk this year, alongside a gain for vehicles like the Ford Escape, executives and analysts said on Wednesday.

"While the segment is still growing year-over-year, it's nowhere near what it was growing last year as the industry was launching a lot of new midsize cars," Bill Fay, the U.S. head of the Toyota brand, said during a call with reporters to discuss U.S. auto sales in April.

U.S. auto sales are being propelled by pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, as shown by U.S. auto sales in April by major automakers.

Crossovers, which are SUVs built on a car-based platform, are appealing because they offer more space for groceries and golf clubs than the typical sedan, and they are easier for people to enter and exit. And fuel mileage is improving.

Perhaps most importantly, the price gap has narrowed between midsize sedans and compact crossovers like the Ford Motor Co Escape, and the Toyota Motor Corp RAV4 and the Honda Motor Co CR-V.

A small crossover costs just $1,300 more than the typical family sedan, according to Kelley Blue Book. Excluding state taxes, this amounts to less than $20 in monthly payments in some cases.

"Fundamentally, both serve the family market," said Mustafa Mohatarem, General Motors Co's chief economist.

"Midsize cars have gotten smaller and more expensive, because of a variety of factors," he said. "People are switching to crossovers, because they satisfy the family needs very well."

JAPANESE AUTOMAKERS HIT HARD

The closing gap in price is encouraging some buyers to consider paying more for a crossover for the additional space and flexibility, said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting with LMC Automotive.

"When there was a further separation between the two, there weren't so much a substitution for each other," he said.

Midsize sedans accounted for 17 percent of the U.S. auto market during the first quarter, compared with 17.7 percent during the same period last year, according to LMC Automotive.

The shift has hit Japanese automakers, which dominate the sedan segment. Camry sales fell 14 percent in April as overall U.S. auto sales rose 8.5 percent. Sales of the Accord, which Honda redesigned last year, fell 5 percent.

The falloff in sedan sales is also due to tough competition in the segment, where several top-selling models have been recently redesigned, including the Ford Fusion.

Midsize sedans also got smaller incentive during the month. Incentives on mid-size sedans averaged $2,098 in April, nearly 10 percent lower than industry incentives overall, according to data from Edmunds.com.

Toyota Motor Corp's April sales fell short of estimates in due in part to tighter competition for the Camry in this bread-and-butter segment, said KBB analyst Alec Gutierrez. Camry is Toyota's top-selling vehicle in the U.S. market.

"Camry will likely be quite strong but not as strong as if it were not facing Fusion, Altima and Accord," Gutierrez said.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Bernie Woodall)

View the original article here

UPDATE 1-Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in ground turkey-report

* FDA says "major public health threat"

* Dangerous bacteria found on 90 percent of turkey tested (Adds FDA comments, paragraphs 11-13)

By Carey Gillam

KANSAS CITY, April 30 (Reuters) - Dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been found in ground turkey on U.S. grocery shelves across a variety of brands and stores located in 21 states, according to a report by a consumer watchdog organization.

Of the 257 samples of ground turkey tested, more than half were found to be positive for fecal bacteria and overall, 90 percent were contaminated with one or more types of disease-causing organisms, many of which proved resistant to one or more common antibiotics, Consumer Reports found.

The non-profit, independent product-testing organization said in the June issue of its magazine that the sampling marked the first time it had conducted a laboratory analysis of ground turkey, a popular consumer alternative to hamburger. It was alarmed by the results.

"Some bacteria that end up on ground turkey, including E. coli and staph aureus, can cause not only food poisoning but also urinary, bloodstream, and other infections," said a Consumer Reports statement on its findings.

The group said it samples ground turkey from 27 different brands including major and store brands.

Turkeys, like other livestock in the United States, are commonly given repeated low doses of antibiotics in an effort to keep the animals healthy and help promote growth. But there has been growing concern that widespread use of antibiotics in animals that are not sick is speeding the development of antibiotic resistance.

The National Turkey Federation said the findings were sensationalized on a sampling that was "extremely small," and said that blaming use of antibiotics in animals was "misleading."

"There is more than one way they (harmful bacteria) can wind up on food animals," said National Turkey Federation vice president Lisa Picard. "In fact, it's so common in the environment, studies have shown that generic E.coli and MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) can even be found on about 20 percent of computer keyboards."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also found widespread contamination, discovering antibiotic resistant E coli, salmonella and other harmful bacteria in turkey, ground beef, pork chops and chicken in sampling done in 2011.

The food safety regulator says resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is "a major public health threat," and last year issued voluntary guidelines for animal health and animal agriculture industries aimed at limiting the antibiotic use in livestock.

The agency has rebuffed efforts to mandate reduced usage but says the voluntary route is faster.

"FDA believes these drugs should be used only in situations where they are necessary for ensuring animal health, and done so under the oversight of a veterinarian," FDA said in a statement.

It added the Consumer Reports findings were misleading and said antimicrobial resistance is a "complex issue with many causes."

U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat, last month reintroduced legislation that would ban non-therapeutic uses of eight types of antibiotics in food animal production.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has issued a warning about antibiotic resistance infections, saying they are becoming increasingly difficult to treat and more infected people are likely to die.

"Humans don't consume antibiotics every day to prevent disease and neither should healthy animals," said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of the Food Safety and Sustainability Group at Consumer Reports. "Prudent use of antibiotics should be required to stem the public health crisis generated from the reduced effectiveness of antibiotics." (Reporting By Carey Gillam; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

View the original article here