I thought I knew what I was getting myself into when I started this project on meat and antibiotic use in animals, but what Environmental Working Group’s team found still shocked me: federal scientists routinely find antibiotic-resistant bacteria – often called superbugs – in meat I regularly buy at the grocery store.

Dr. Gail Hansen, an expert at The Pew Charitable Trusts, advised me early on to “keep your kitchen as sterile as you would an operating room, and you’ll be fine.”

“Whoa!” I thought. “That’s a little extreme.” But after digging into the research, I’ve concluded that Dr. Hansen is right.

Babies have fallen ill with salmonella after parents placed raw meat next to them in the shopping cart, and no doubt some of the urinary tract infections that 1 in 2 women get in their lifetimes have come from E. coli that started out on meat they picked up in a market.

The bad news – superbugs are in the store and on the rise.

EWG’s calculations show that the latest round of supermarket meat tests by federal scientists documented startlingly high levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on turkey, pork, beef and chicken.

In February of this year, federal scientists quietly published their latest test results of meats commonly bought in the grocery store. The 82-page report buried some of the most interesting findings: antibiotic-resistance in salmonella and Campylobacter, which together cause 3.6 million cases of food poisoning a year, is on the rise in poultry. And in chicken, the percentage of salmonella that is antibiotic-resistant is at a nine-year high.

EWG’s research concluded that my risk of bringing a superbug into my kitchen varies by type of meat I buy and how the farmer – and in most cases, factory farmer – raised the animal. Some types of meats, like ground turkey, contain worrisome antibiotic-resistant bacteria in higher numbers than other types.

The good news – consumers can protect themselves.

Happily, EWG found that consumers can protect themselves by following good food safety practices.

Here are some: bag raw meat before it goes in the grocery cart and be especially careful with ground meats—they are more contaminated then their whole meat counterparts. Store meat on the lowest rack in the fridge, away from fresh produce. Thaw in the fridge. Don’t wash meat – splashes spread bacteria. Use separate cutting boards for meat and produce.

Teach budding kitchen helpers about food safety and model safe kitchen practices—don’t eat raw cookie dough made with eggs. There are creative ways to make washing up and using a food thermometer fun—kids may enjoy singing happy birthday while they wash their hands and being in charge of taking the internal temperature of dinner to see if it’s done.

Always wash your hands before and after you prepare meat. Be strict about food safety, especially when cooking for children under 5—they are the most likely to get sick with salmonella.  Also be careful when you cook for pregnant women, the elderly or others with weakened immune systems.

EWG recommends that you assume all meat is contaminated with disease-causing bacteria and, very likely, superbug versions of those germs. EWG’s downloadable Tips to Avoiding Superbugs in Meat will help you find those meats least likely to harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria. You can find an EWG wallet card and label decoder posted at ewg.org/meateatersguide/superbugs website starting April 16.

Until then, you can check out the health and environmental consequences of various meats here: ewg.org/meateaterguide.

This blog is a part of MomsRising’s Supermoms Against Superbugs Blog Carnival! Please check out other great posts from experts, parents and activists on the front lines in the fight to keep our food healthy and safe.