Campylobacter, the food bug which is mainly found on raw poultry and is considered one of the biggest cause of food poisoning in the UK, has been found in 73 per cent of chickens in the UK – a year long survey carried out by the Food Standards Agency has revealed.
The FSA published its cumulative results for samples taken between February 2014 and February 2015 including results presented by major retailer. The survey found that 19 per cent of chickens tested positive for campylobacter within the highest band of contamination meaning that more than 1,000 colony forming units per gram (>1,000 cfu/g) were detected in those samples.
The survey, which tested more than 4,000 samples of fresh whole chilled chickens and packaging, also found that 0.1 per cent (five samples) of packaging tested positive at the highest band of contamination and 7 per cent of packaging tested positive for the presence of campylobacter.
FSA revealed that the chickens were bought from large UK retail outlets and smaller independent stores and butchers and though there is variations between the retailers, none has met the target for reducing campylobacter.
Highest number of samples – 662 – were tested from ASDA out of which 29.7 per cent had a higher incidence of chicken that is contaminated by campylobacter at the highest level. Tesco is the only one of the main retailers which has a lower incidence of chicken contaminated with campylobacter at the highest level.
The FSA has welcomed the publication today of case studies by Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, the Co-op and Waitrose showing the results of their recently implemented campylobacter reduction plans.
FSA’s advice to consumers
While FSA is pressing the industry to play its part in reducing the levels of campylobacter contamination, consumers have been advised to follow good kitchen practice. Some of the suggestions include:
- Make sure you cover and store the raw chicken on the bottom shelf of the fridge so that juices don’t drip on to other foods and contaminate them with food poisoning bacteria such as campylobacter;
- Properly cook the chicken for consuming it so that any bacteria including campylobacter are destroyed;
- Thoroughly wash and clean all utensils, chopping boards and surfaces used to prepare raw chicken. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water, after handling raw chicken. This helps stop the spread of campylobacter by avoiding cross contamination.
- Make sure chicken is steaming hot all the way through before serving. Cut in to the thickest part of the meat and check that it is steaming hot with no pink meat and that the juices run clear.
