Could many urinary tract infections be caused by E. coli in meat? That’s what a new Southern California-based study has found.
Researchers from George Washington University and Kaiser Permanente Southern California studied thousands of samples of urine that tested positive for E. coli in Southern California between 2017 and 2021, tying about 18% of them to contaminated meat at local grocery stores.
“Urinary tract infections have long been considered a personal health issue, but our findings suggest that they are also a food safety problem,” Lance Price, senior author of the study and GWU professor of environmental and occupational health, told the Los Angeles Times.
And food safety was a significant issue, researchers said.
“Among the meat samples, E. coli contamination was highest among turkey (82%), followed by chicken (58%), pork (54%), and beef (47%),” they wrote.
The percentage of contaminated meat was higher in lower-income areas, which also showed higher percentages of meat-caused UTIs, researchers said.
UTIs are fairly common, especially in women, and experts suggest people stay hydrated and consume cranberry products to help prevent the infections. For more tips, visit the Mayo Clinic’s website.
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