New FSA study raises food poisoning concerns


Updated on 06 August 2014 | 0 Comments

The FSA has found dangerous bacteria on both the inside, and outside packaging, of shop-bought chickens.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published its first set of quarterly results from a survey into the presence of campylobacter bacteria in fresh shop-bought chickens.

Over half (59%) of its sample tested positive for the presence of campylobacter, and 4% of the chickens were found to have the bacteria on the outside of the packaging. Though the latter is a very low level, it underlines how it's important to wash your hands thoroughly after handling packaged poultry.

Food poisoning in the UK

Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK, and affects around 280,000 people a year. The majority of these cases stem from contaminated poultry, says the FSA, so it is important that chicken is prepared and cooked appropriately, particularly in light of these findings.

Catherine Brown, FSA Chief Executive, says that this new survey of shops “is an important part of the work we are doing to tackle campylobacter” and the “low levels of contamination found on packaging potentially indicate the effectiveness of the leak-proof packaging for poultry introduced by most retailers, which helps to reduce risks of cross contamination in consumers’ kitchens.”

She says the survey "will give us a clearer picture of the prevalence of Campylobacter on raw poultry sold at retail and help us measure the impact of interventions introduced by producers, processers, and retailers to reduce contamination."

Good kitchen practice

The FSA offers the following advice to ensure you avoid spreading bacteria during preparation and kill it during cooking.

Update 06/08/2014

The government has released a statement regarding campylobacter bacteria found in chickens, saying that they continue to work with the FSA to reduce the risk of food poisoning, and that its "top priority is the safety of the public and people need to feel confident in the food they buy." Read the full response here.

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