Many studies have documented the lack of grocery stores in poor neighborhoods compared to wealthier enclaves. But researchers from Drexel University went a step further in a new study that suggests that fresh food sold at stores in poor neighborhoods contains more bacteria and microbes than the same products sold in districts of higher socioeconomic status.
Over the course of 15 months, researchers tested the levels of microbes, pathogens, molds and yeasts in meat, poulty, produce, juice and milk from six markets in both poor and wealthy Philadelphia-area neighborhoods.
The study, published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, found that ready-to-eat salads and strawberries sold in low-income neighborhoods had much higher levels of microorganisms, yeasts and molds than those sold in richer ones. Cucumbers from stores in poor areas had higher yeast counts, and watermelon contained more bacteria.
Ground beef from stores in low-income neighborhoods had less bacteria than that sold elswehere. The study’s authors suggested this could be due to faster product turnover: Stores in rich neighborhoods often offer different types of ground beef products, while stores in poor ones often carry just one.
Levels of E.Coli in beef and salmonella in chicken were about the same regardless of where they were sold, researchers found. These pathogens are generally introduced at farms and processing plants, not stores, according to the study.
The researchers suggested a lack of proper refrigeration during transport or at the stores themselves might be to blame for the higher microbial counts on vegetables from stores in poor areas. They also suggested low-income people might be less likely to buy fresh food if the only vegetables they have access to are of poor quality and spoil quickly.
It never fails to surprise me how much evidence exists just under our noses that helps to explain the vast disparities in health outcomes among communities with and without resources. When I struggle to comprehend the 17-yr difference in life expectancy between men in suburban Maryland and Washington DC, I quickly assemble a long list of factors that probably contribute to these avoidable differences. And here’s yet another. Amazing.