Campylobacter reduction progress continues

The latest results from a survey of campylobacter on fresh, shop bought chickens have been published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The results for the second quarter of testing, from October to December 2015, continue to show a decrease in the number of birds with the highest level of contamination from the same months last year. These most heavily contaminated birds, carrying more than 1,000 colony forming units per gram (cfu/g), are the focus of the current target agreed by industry, which is equivalent to no more than 7% of chickens at retail having the highest levels of contamination.

The latest data show 11% of chickens tested positive for the highest level of contamination, down from 19% in October to December 2014. Campylobacter was present on 59% of chicken samples, down from 74% in the same months of the previous year.

Interventions, including improved biosecurity, SonoSteam, and the trimming of neck skins, introduced by some retailers to reduce levels of campylobacter, may be helping to deliver the improved results.

Steve Wearne, director of policy at the FSA, comments, “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.

“We have also arrived at a point where consumers expect access to data about campylobacter, so the FSA must ensure its survey remains robust, and work with industry to ensure as much sampling data as possible are available to the public.”