Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Trace One.
Most Americans take for granted that the food they purchase at the grocery store is safe to eat. But ensuring the safety of the food supply requires a coordinated effort involving scientific monitoring, regulatory oversight, and public health infrastructure.
Among the most serious threats are bacterial pathogens, which are the second-leading cause of food recalls after undeclared allergens, and can lead to widespread foodborne illness.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 48 million people in the United States get sick from foodborne illnesses each year. Of these, approximately 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. Bacterial contamination of retail meat — particularly by pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter — is a major contributor to this.
Oversight of the food supply is a shared responsibility between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, both agencies are currently facing significant budget cuts that may reduce their capacity to monitor pathogens, investigate outbreaks, and enforce safety standards.
One key surveillance effort is the FDA’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), which tracks antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in retail meats.
This report by Trace One draws on the most recent NARMS data to rank the states with the highest relative levels of contamination in retail meat products.
15. Kansas
- Retail meat risk index: 47.63
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 17.6%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 9.5%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 3.0%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 1.5%
14. Maryland
- Retail meat risk index: 47.63
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 23.3%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 14.9%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 3.8%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 0.0%
13. Oregon
- Retail meat risk index: 50.00
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 16.3%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 11.9%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 1.9%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 2.1%
12. South Dakota
- Retail meat risk index: 50.00
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 12.9%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 7.5%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 8.1%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 1.6%
11. California
- Retail meat risk index: 51.18
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 31.4%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 6.5%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 4.8%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 0.6%
10. Texas
- Retail meat risk index: 52.38
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 24.6%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 10.7%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 0.5%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 2.1%
9. New York
- Retail meat risk index: 54.75
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 24.4%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 18.4%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 5.0%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 0.0%
8. Ohio
- Retail meat risk index: 54.78
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 10.1%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 8.0%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 6.9%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 4.1%
7. North Carolina
- Retail meat risk index: 54.78
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 27.8%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 14.2%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 2.6%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 0.4%
6. Missouri
- Retail meat risk index: 55.95
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 17.4%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 7.9%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 6.7%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 3.8%
5. Pennsylvania
- Retail meat risk index: 58.35
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 29.4%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 10.4%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 2.2%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 1.2%
4. Minnesota
- Retail meat risk index: 63.10
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 22.4%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 11.7%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 10.5%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 1.0%
3. Tennessee
- Retail meat risk index: 66.65
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 25.7%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 12.7%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 6.6%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 1.0%
2. South Carolina
- Retail meat risk index: 67.85
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 27.8%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 15.8%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 4.8%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 0.5%
1. Georgia
- Retail meat risk index: 69.05
- Chicken (salmonella or campylobacter): 29.8%
- Ground turkey (salmonella or campylobacter): 13.3%
- Pork chops (salmonella): 2.9%
- Ground beef (salmonella): 1.4%
Methodology
This analysis was conducted by Trace One using data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s NARMS, which tracks bacterial contamination and antimicrobial resistance in retail meats.
The study examined data from 2019 through 2021, the most recent three-year period for which complete data were available at the time of analysis.
For national-level comparisons, bacterial contamination was evaluated across all major meat types — chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, and pork chops — and four bacterial pathogens: campylobacter, enterococcus, Escherichia (E. coli), and salmonella.
However, due to state-level variability in sampling practices, the state-level analysis focused only on meat-bacteria combinations that were consistently tested across all states.
Specifically, for chicken and turkey, the analysis calculated the percentage of samples tested for both salmonella and campylobacter that were positive for at least one of these two bacteria. For beef and pork, only salmonella contamination was assessed.
Based on these measures, a composite “retail meat risk index” was created to rank states according to their relative levels of contamination. This index accounts for how each state ranked across the standardized meat-pathogen combinations.
Because of substantial differences in how states collect and submit samples — including variation in sample sizes, retail sources, and testing procedures — it was not useful to calculate an overall contamination rate across all states.
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