Plant-Based Products Can Harbor the Same Pathogens as Meat, USDA Says
The growth of plant-based alternatives is due in part to a belief that plant-based products are healthier than animal-meat and less susceptible to pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella and others, USDA says. This faith in the inherent safety of plant-based products is misplaced, says scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
“Many consumers believe that plant-based foods are minimally processed, more healthful and nutritionally superior to otherwise similar animal-based counterparts,” John Luchansky, lead scientist at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center’s (ERRC) Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research unit in Wyndmoor, Penn., said in a release. “In reality, plant-based meats are ultra-processed and contain numerous food-grade chemicals as ingredients.”
Consumers have been trending toward low fat/high protein foods in the past 30 years. Luchansky said the emergence of plant-based meat alternatives is an offshoot of this trend. Although some improvements have been made in the quality of these alternatives, there is a shortage of data on their safety as it relates to microbial pathogens, the release said.
“Little, if any, information is available on the time and temperature combinations required to prevent the outgrowth of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Salmonella, and Listeria during shelf life, or how to reduce these pathogens during cooking,” Luchansky said.
Consumers generally, and correctly, consider meat burgers to be raw and to require cooking prior to consumption. However, many view plant-based burgers as not raw because they contain plant material, and some plants can be eaten raw.
“In reality, plants often harbor high levels of foodborne pathogens and, as such, plant-based burgers should be considered and handled just like for example, raw ground beef,” Anna Porto-Fett, microbiologist at ERRC, said in the release.
To date, there have been no recalls or illnesses attributable to plant-based protein products being contaminated with STEC or Listeria, the release said. Nevertheless, plant-based products might contain these pathogens if they were processed with contaminated raw materials or in a poor-quality processing environment, Luchansky pointed out.
“We need further research about how to inhibit and/or destroy pathogenic bacteria and to better protect consumers against foodborne diseases,” he added.
Consumers can lower their risk of becoming ill by handling plant-based products the same way they’d handle raw and cooked meat, Porto-Fett said. Follow the ‘Four C’s of Food Safety,’ which are Cook (160º F), Clean, don’t Cross-contaminate and Chill.
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