The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Survey reveals 59% of fresh chickens have bug
Efforts by retailers to fight campylobacter lead to ‘further progress’
More than half of fresh shop-bought chickens have tested positive for the food poisoning bug campylobacter in the latest Food Standards Agency (FSA) survey.
However, the figure of 59% is down from the 74% of samples which tested positive at the same time last year, while the percentage of chickens testing positive for the highest levels of contamination has also dropped, to 11% from 19% this time last year.
The FSA welcomed “signs of further progress” on the bug, which affects an estimated 280,000 people a year.
One retailer – Morrisons – met the current industry target of selling no more than 7% of chickens with the highest levels of contamination. The FSA said research had shown that reducing the proportion of birds in this category would have the biggest positive impact on public health.
Sainsbury’s had the highest overall level of chickens testing positive for the bug, at 65.7%, followed by Lidl (64.9%) and Aldi (62.5%). Sainsbury’s also topped the table for chickens sold with the highest levels of contamination, at 17.6%, followed by Marks & Spencer (15.2%) and Asda (11.3%).
The second-quarter results of the FSA’s second survey, based on testing between October and December, looked at the prevalence and levels of campylobacter contamination on fresh, whole, chilled chickens and their packaging.
The second year of testing is designed to measure the impact of interventions being introduced by the industry to tackle campylobacter.
The survey also found that 5.7% of packaging tested positive for the bug, down slightly from 6% in the previous results.
The FSA tested 966 samples of fresh, whole, chilled, UK-produced chickens and packaging bought from large UK retail outlets and smaller independent stores and butchers.
It has been testing chickens for campylobacter since February 2014 and publishing the results as part of its campaign to encourage the whole industry to tackle the problem.
The FSA said interventions such as improved biosecurity, use of SonoSteam sterilising technology and the trimming of neck skins – introduced by some retailers to reduce levels of campylobacter – may be behind the improved results.
It said the trimming of neck skin – the most highly-contaminated area – meant chickens were carrying less campylobacter but also resulted in potentially difficult comparisons with the first year’s survey.
The agency said it would review the impact of the intervention to ensure the survey results “remain robust”.
FSA director of policy Steve Wearne said: “These results are heading in the right direction and we must continue to build on this progress. Retailers and processors must ensure the interventions that are working are embedded in industry practice.”