Health officials have said that many chickens sold within the United Kingdom are being sold with the bug present due to poor practices within the poultry industry.

People at Public Health England claim that without sufficient legislation in place then the entire industry will be slow to bring in improvements and changes to could reduce the threat of contamination because they fear it will drive up costs.

This warning came at a time when the Food Standards Agency were preparing to release a survey assessing campylobacter levels on chickens being sold at some of the country’s leading supermarkets.

“There are some thoughts that the way the industry were allow biosecurity breaches that could lead to campylobacter infections spreading,” said Dr Frieda Jorgensen.

According to reports, it is estimated that some 60,000 people end up seeking medical advice – either by visiting the hospital or going to see a doctor – though it is believed that the total number affected could be closer to 500,000.

Typical symptoms can include mild stomach pains, fevers and diarrhoea.

However people should not worry too much. Even though the presence of campylobacter and other pathogens isn’t a good thing, it is fairly easy to eradicate at home. As long as poultry is prepared properly and cooked thoroughly and cooks follow all sensible hygiene practices then the risk of any upset stomachs should be minimal.

It is believed that the Food Standards Agency is currently trialling new methods in two of Britain’s major abattoirs in a bid reduce bacteria levels. One of them involves blasting the carcasses with liquid nitrogen, the other techniques utilises a combination of ultrasound and steam to blow away the pathogen.

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But the Food Standards Agency has issued a few carefully chosen words on warning ahead of the elongated weekend.

Food poisoning, they say, is still a real danger and that problem is exasperated when people turn to cooking outdoors.

The results of a poll suggest that 94% of people admit to at least one bad barbecue habit.

The survey asked over 2,000 adults about their barbecuing practices and it was found that 21% of people believed that they had been ill from their alfresco adventures.

Worryingly, a third confessed that they didn’t bother checking whether their food was cooked or not.

“Charred doesn’t mean cooked,”the FSA say and the Governmental body suggest pre-cooking food and only using the barbecue or outdoor grill to finish things off.

They also warned people that disposable barbecues, so popular during these summer months, take longer to cook food and that extra time needs to be accounted for.

The comments have been released as part of the FSA’s campaign to raise awareness about campylobacter, which affects more than 250,000 people every year.

“Food poisoning is a real rise at barbecues,” says chief executive Catherine Brown.

“So we are reminding people to take good care of their families and friends by paying attention to simple food safety rules.”

About half of the people questioned said that they use the same utensils for both raw and cooked produce, increasing the risk of cross contamination and the transfer of harmful bacteria which can cause discomfort and illness.

A simple solution would be to purchase colour-coded tongs.

Do you have any bad barbecue habits you’re willing to share? Let us know via the comments box below

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Last week the Food Standards Agency published a report into food poisoning and it made for some very interesting reading.

Officials highlighted the importance of their own findings, suggesting that official data significantly underestimate the risk as only the most serious cases get reported when patients seek medical help.

“The data from this study, couple with data from official statistics, refines our previous estimates of the real burden of foodborne disease and so will help focus efforts to reduce levels of food poisoning in the UK”, the FSA said.

The watchdog noted that campylobacter, which is commonly found on raw and undercooked chicken, was the pathogen that presented the biggest risk to individuals, with clostridium perfringens and the norovirus as other high profile problem-causing bacteria.

In summary, the study found that:

• There are more than half-a-million cases of illness from known pathogens. This figure would double if unknown pathogens were included in results.
• Camplyobacter was the most common pathogen, attributed to around 280,000 cases on an annual basis.
• However it was Salmonella that caused the most hospital visits.

Lead researcher, Professor Sarah O’Brien, said that these new document findings will “help the FSA to target its resources more effectively in tackling food poisoning” and that the group are right to “put campylobacter the top of its priority list.”

Even though the bacteria has caused a lot of upset stomachs and a number of potentially embarrassing ‘morning afters’, the pathogen is remarkably easy to eradicate: it is killed by cooking poultry thoroughly, so as long as people prepare their chicken properly and follow sensible hygiene practices they should be clear of any risk.

British retailers are also playing their part, with a spokesperson claiming that supermarkets have already taken steps to eradicate the problem, measures which include further investment within their supply chains and further work with farmers and processors to identify quality controls.

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However the FSA has warned people against this commonly held kitchen practice as doing so increases the risk of food poisoning.

Those most at risk are the elderly and children under the age of 5.

Camplyobacter currently affects 280,000 people in the United Kingdom each year and the bacteria is commonly spread onto hands, clothing, utensils and surrounding work surfaces from splashing water droplets, hence why the governmental department has moved to inform the general public about this unknown threat.

Symptoms can include stomach pains, fevers and diarrhoea, though long-term health issues have been noted such as irritable bowel syndrome and, in extremely rare cases, Guillain-Carre syndrome. At worst, if left untreated, it could kill.

“That’s why we’re calling on people to stop washing raw chicken and also raising awareness of the risks of contracting campylobacter as a result of cross-contamination,” says the FSA’s chief executive Catherine Brown

The majority of issues surrounding the bacteria stem from contaminated poultry, though the bacteria can also be found in raw meat and milk products.

A third of people surveyed cited that they washed poultry in order to remove germs, with another stating that they did so get remove dirt.

The study also found that whilst the majority of people polled were well aware of salmonella and E. coli, not many were aware of campylobacter despite it being the most common cause of food poisoning in the country.

Brown continues; “Campylobacter is a serious issue. Not only can it cause severe illness and death, but it costs the economy hundreds of millions of pounds a year as a result of sickness absence and the burden on the NHS.”

The FSA has also released this promotional video

photo: Lebensmittelfotos (Pixabay, used under CC)

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A significant proportion of the cases involve infected chicken, even though supermarkets and farmers have been pushed into improving standards of hygiene.

Up to 18,000 of those are affected seriously enough to require hospitalisation and 140 cases annually result in death.

The statistics show consecutive increases in the number of people affected for the last four years, despite the Food Standards Agency focusing on food poisoning above all other concerns.

The agency estimates up to two thirds of fresh chicken bought from supermarkets could be carrying the infection, although measures have been taken to control the spread on farms.

A strategy involving biosecurity and special hygiene measures has been in place since 2010 with the aim of reducing the number of contaminated chickens by half, but results have been disappointing.

The watchdog has also come down hard on supermarkets, threatening to force them to remove the birds from sale unless they can be guaranteed campylobacter free.

However apparently supermarkets have done little to comply so far other than introducing non-drip packaging.

The agency’s next step could involve washing the chickens with a lactic acid solution or using blast freezing techniques to try and eradicate the bug.

In the meantime, consumers should ensure all chicken products are carefully stored and thoroughly cooked (above 60 degrees celcius) before eating.

Also, buying your meat and poultry from smaller independent butchers shrinks the supply chain and usually local butchers can say with certainty where their animals were born, raised and slaughtered reducing the risk or need for acid baths and other such gruesome industrial practice.

Campylobacter joins norovirus, salmonella, e.coli and listeria as Britain’s most prevalent strains of food poisoning, between them costing the UK economy about  1.8 billion annually in lost working days.

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