A Comparative Quantitative Assessment of Human Exposure to Various Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria among U.S. Ground Beef Consumers
Consumption of animal-derived meat products is suspected as an important exposure route to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), as the presence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) along the beef supply chain is well-documented. A retail-to-fork quantitative exposure assessment was established to compare consumers’ exposure to various ARB due to the consumption of ground beef with and without “raised without antibiotics (RWA)” claims and to inform potential exposure mitigation strategies related to consumer practices. The microbial agents evaluated included generic Escherichia coli , tetracycline-resistant (TET r ) E. coli , 3 rd -generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC r ) E. coli , Salmonella enterica , TET r S. enterica , 3GC r S. enterica , nalidixic acid-resistant (NAL r ) S. enterica , Enterococcus spp., TET r Enterococcus spp., erythromycin-resistant (ERY r ) Enterococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus , and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The final model outputs were the probability of exposure to at least 0 to 6 log10 CFU microorganisms per serving of ground beef at consumption. It was estimated that tetracycline resistance was more prevalent in ground beef, compared with other types of resistance, among which the predicted average probability of ingesting TET r Enterococcus was highest (6.2% of ingesting at least 0 log 10 CFU/serving), followed by TET r E. coli (3.1%) and TET r Salmonella (0.0001%), given common product purchase preferences and preparation behaviors among beef consumers in the U.S. The effectiveness of consumer-related interventions was estimated by simulating the differences in exposure as a result of changes in consumer practices in purchasing, handling, and preparing ground beef. The results indicated that proper employment of recommended safe cooking and food preparation practices mitigates ARB exposure more effectively than choosing RWA rather than conventional (CONV) beef.