Possibly life-threatening organisms lurk in most raw chicken sold in stores throughout the country, suggests a new study by Consumer Reports.

A recent analysis of more than 300 raw chicken breasts purchased across the United States found potentially harmful bacteria in almost all of the chicken, including organic brands.

The new report comes in the wake of a salmonella outbreak linked to three Foster Farms chicken plants became public and made national headlines earlier this holiday season.

In that case, 389 people were infected, 40 percent of which were hospitalized -- about twice the usual percentage linked to most salmonella-related outbreaks.

Federal statistics show Americans buy an estimated 83 pounds of meat per person, annually.

While 48 million people fall sick yearly from ingesting food tainted with salmonella, campylobacter, E. coli and other contaminants, "more deaths were attributed to poultry than to any other commodity," according to an outbreak study from 1998 through 2008 by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to Consumer Reports, it's not realistic to assume uncooked chicken you buy won't contain any potentially harmful bacteria. Therefore, it's always advisable never to allow raw chicken or its juices from contact with any other food, then to cook the chicken to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tests conducted by Consumer Reports, which collected samples of raw chicken in last July, revealed antibiotic-resistant bacteria are commonly found even in the processed chicken available at local grocery stores.

The resistance to antibiotics in meat bacterial is such a serious threat to public health, the CDCP in September released a detailed report that showed antibiotic-resistant infections linked to at least 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.

Furthermore, if researchers don't find a way to stem the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, they could lead to deadly infections after routine surgeries or seemingly minor cuts because the drugs prescribed by doctors will have lost effectiveness.

Salmonella bacteria come in many strains, and can be compared to dog breeds, says Lance Price, Ph.D., a professor in environmental and occupational health at George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C.

To understand their comparative differences, Price was quoted by Consumer Reports, "all dogs are the same species," and just as "a Chihuahua and a pit bull behave differently," the drug-resistant Heidelberg strain of salmonella associated with the Foster Farms outbreak is more likely than other strains to cause disease.

When antibiotic resistance occurs in a virulent pathogen like the Heidelberg salmonella strain, something inherently dangerous becomes even worse, Price said, likening the bacterium to "a pit bull with rabies."