Another day, another health-related failure in Georgia.
New research from Trace One shows that Georgia shoppers face the highest risk of buying contaminated meat at grocery stores compared to other states. Nearly 30% of chicken samples in Georgia tested positive for dangerous bacteria that can make you sick.
🔬 What’s Happening: A new study analyzed meat contamination data from 22 states using federal monitoring systems. Georgia scored worst with a contamination risk index of 69.05.
• Chicken showed the highest contamination rate at nearly 30%
• Ground turkey contamination hit 13% of samples tested
⚠️ Between the Lines: The bacteria found in Georgia meat samples include Salmonella and Campylobacter. These pathogens cause the majority of foodborne illnesses that send people to hospitals.
• About 48 million Americans get sick from contaminated food each year
• Nearly 23% of bacteria found in retail meat resists multiple antibiotics
🥩 Why It Matters: With federal food safety agencies facing budget cuts, contaminated meat poses a growing threat to families across the state. These bacteria can cause serious illness and hospitalization.
🍗 The Bigger Picture: Poultry products carry the highest contamination risk nationwide. Bacteria can spread to meat during slaughter, handling, or packaging when sanitation procedures fail.
The problem gets worse when livestock receive routine antibiotics, creating drug-resistant bacteria that are harder to treat. Georgia’s high contamination rates put the state’s residents at greater risk just as federal oversight faces potential cuts.
🧰 Take Action: Change only comes when Georgians demand better from their elected officials and the companies that supply their food. Georgia is a “business-friendly” state, which often means profits come before people and residents have to tell their elected officials about problems they see. You can contact your representatives to push for stronger food safety oversight. You can also choose to buy from local farms and processors that follow stricter safety standards. Your voice and your wallet both have power to create the change Georgia families need.
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
