Toxic Country – Diseased Food

Diseased Food

Much of New Zealand food is “contaminated with disease-causing bacteria and viruses as a result of over-crowded factory farming conditions and unhygienic processing plants.”

“New Zealand has the highest rates of Campylobacter food poisoning in the developed world, nearly 3 times higher than the next highest countries, England and Wales, and 10 times higher than America and Canada.” According to a Green Party report.

“An extraordinary 75,000 New Zealanders [nearly 2 percent of their population] are affected by Campylobacter food poisoning every year.”

“Did you know?

• Consumption of chicken in New Zealand causes more cases of Campylobacter food poisoning than all other risk factors combined.
• Refrigeration does not get rid of Campylobacter as it survives better at refrigerated temperatures than at room temperatures.
• A recent study found Campylobacter present on 40-80 percent of chicken carcasses and livers at processing plants.
• Another recent study found 24 percent of chicken packs were externally contaminated with Campylobacter.
• Up to 60 percent of total retail samples of raw poultry in New Zealand have been found to be contaminated with Camplyobacter.
• There has been a 400 percent increase in reported cases of Campylobacter since 1990 – from 3,850 reported cases in 1990 to 15,000 reported cases in 2003. But for every case at least 7 go unreported.
• The long term effects of Campylobacter include Guillain-Barre Syndrome and reactive arthritis: Campylobacter food poisoning is thought to be the cause of 10 percent of all cases of reactive arthritis and 25 percent of all cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
• The most at-risk groups are infants and young adults.
• The defeathering process in slaughter houses is considered a major source of contamination because contaminated carcasses spread the microorganisms to all the other carcasses.
• Raw poultry manure, straight from the factory farms, is spread untreated onto paddocks, and Camplyobacter lives in the gut of birds.
• Campylobacter can spread through waterways to infect other livestock including cows, and humans.”

Original report

Warning: Do Not Feed Your Children  Food Imports from New Zealand!