The study, commissioned by the Alliance to Save our Antibiotics and carried out by scientists at Cambridge University, looked at 189 UK-origin pig and poultry meat samples from the seven largest supermarkets in the UK (ASDA, Aldi, Coop, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose). The highly resistant ESBL type of E. coli was found on meat from all of the supermarkets. 
Dr Mark Holmes, from Cambridge University, who led the study said: “I’m concerned that insufficient resources are being put into the surveillance of antibiotic resistance in farm animals and retail meat. We don’t know if these levels are rising or falling in the absence of an effective monitoring system. 
“These results highlight the need for improvements in antibiotic stewardship in veterinary medicine. While some progress has been made we must not be complacent as it may take many years before we see significant reductions in the numbers of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in farms.” 
The British Poultry Council commented that the poultry sector has reduced its use of antibiotics by 44 per cent since 2012, but added that resistance is complex and efforts are continuing to address this. 
“How best to do this is just one of the incredibly difficult questions we and the scientific community are trying to answer,” the organisation said. 
The Council added that good hygiene practice in cooking and handling the meat will kill the E. coli.