Image by Flickr user Yortw

According to a recent study done by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, nearly half the chicken products marketed by national brands and sold in supermarkets are contaminated with feces.

Here's more on the Committee's findings:

In this study, scientists with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine tested chicken products sold by 15 grocery store chains in 10 U.S. cities for the presence of feces. A certified, independent analytical testing laboratory in Chicago, Ill., tested for the presence of E. coli as evidence of fecal contamination. Chicken products from every city and every grocery store chain tested positive for fecal contamination. Overall, 48 percent of chicken samples tested positive.

Two Charleston grocery chains were sampled by the group and 33% of both Harris Teeter and Publix's stock were found to contain chicken products with fecal contamination.

It is importatnt to note, however, that the PCRM as a whole advocates a vegetarian/vegan diet and the sample size of the study consisted of 120 chickens. For more on the issue from both sides of the coin, hop over to this article in The Huffington Post.