Poop on birds: A survey of Campylobacter on fresh chicken in the UK
The year-long survey of Campylobacter on fresh chicken by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), which is carried out during the period from February 2014 to February 2015, reported the levels of Campylobacter found on fresh chickens sold in the UK. The final report was released in May, 2015, and it included the results represented by major retailers all over the UK.
Campylobacter has become the most common cause of bacterial food poisoning in the UK, which can cause gastrointestinal infections such as bloody diarrhea and dysentery syndrome like cramps, fever, and pain. Poisoning usually develops a few days after eating contaminated food, and the most common routes of transmission are fecal-oral. Raw poultry, being the most common food vehicle responsible for the transmission contributes to 4 in 5 cases of campylobacter food poisoning in the UK.
According to the results from the report, during the tested period,
- 19% chickens tested positive for campylobacter within the highest band of contamination (greater than 1,000 colony forming unit per gram (cfu/g) on each sample)
- 73% of chickens tested positive for the presence of campylobacter (i.e. contained campylobacter at a level above the detectable limit of 10 cfu/g)
- 0.1% (5 samples) of packaging tested positive at the highest band of contamination
- 7% of packaging tested positive for the presence of campylobacter
(If you are interested in more details about the report, please refer to the full report at A microbiological survey of Campylobacter contamination in fresh whole UKproduced chilled chickens at retail sale – February 2014 to February 2015)
However, above results seem not to be optimistic provided that the UK government and industry have targeted for reduction of Campylobacter in the chickens produced in UK poultry slaughterhouses that have the highest level of contamination (i.e. those with more than 1,000 cfu per gram) from a baseline of 27% in 2008 to 10% by 2015 ever since 2010. (read more at the Joint Government and Industry Target to Reduce Campylobacter in UK Produced Chickens by 2015 December 2010)
Under such circumstances, to further reduce campylobacter levels in raw chicken and improve the food safety in the UK, the FSA initiated the ‘Chicken Challenge’ during the summer of 2015, and encouraged the public to share messages that demonstrate proper food handling methods to their family and friends. For example, the message saying “store raw chicken separately from other food, covered and chilled on bottom shelf of fridge” would prevent cross contamination and help limit the growth of Campylobacter. For more good demonstrations and some other fun activities you can visit the home page of the ‘Chicken Challenge’.
Finally, back to our daily life, there are certain things you can do to avoid Campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter poisoning). Campylobacter is actually very heat sensitive and can be destroyed with thorough heating process. Your chicken is safe as long as you follow good kitchen practice:
- Cover and chill raw chicken: Cover raw chicken and store them on the bottom shelf of the fridge so that the juices can’t drip on to other foods and contaminate them with Campylobacter.
- Don’t wash raw chicken: Cooking will kill any bacteria present in the raw chicken, including Campylobacter. However, if you wash them in your sink, splashing of water will spread the germs.
- Wash hands and use utensils: Thoroughly wash and clean all utensils that contact the raw chicken, such as chopping boards and surface used to prepare raw chicken. And thoroughly wash your hands with soap and warm water after handling raw chicken. Such practice can help prevent cross contamination.
- Cook chicken thoroughly: Make sure chicken is steaming hot all the way through before consuming. It is always better to check that the thickest part of your chicken is steaming hot with no pink meat and the juices run clear.
Check out the video below to become a ‘Chicken Hero’!
Wish you all have a safe one without any food poisoning 🙂 LOL
Candice Zheng
Barbara Correia 7:05 pm on October 11, 2015 Permalink |
I am surprised that, even though the UK government authorities and food companies targeted the reduction of Campylobacter in chicken products, the number of products that tested positive for this bacteria was still very high. I liked a lot your tips for avoiding cross-contamination from raw chicken and I believe that one of the best ways to combat Campylobacter outbreaks from raw chicken is spreading information to people, so that they make sure they cook properly the chicken (as Campylobacter is sensitive to high temperatures) and avoid contaminating other foods.
Barbara Correia 7:11 pm on October 11, 2015 Permalink |
I am very shocked that, even though the UK authorities worked in order to reduce Campylobacter from raw chicken and, therefore the major source of foodborne diseases caused by Campylobacter, their plan of action still failed and a lot of the raw chickens tested positive for the presence of this bacteria. Therefore, I believe that right now the best way to prevent outbreaks of foodborne diseases caused by Campylobacter from raw chicken sources is to warn and inform people that they should cook properly the chicken and hoow to avoid cross-contamination, and that is why I found your tips very important.
angel519 1:27 pm on October 12, 2015 Permalink |
The food industry plays an important in ensuring food safety in our community, however, the government also have a great impact on this field. The “Chicken Challenge” in the UK is a great example of the government educating the public to have good food safety practice. It is crucial for the public to recognize that improper food handling can lead to foodborne illnesses, and they are ways they can improve their handling practice to reduce the chance of food poisoning.
WinnieLiao 10:53 am on October 13, 2015 Permalink |
Campylobacter with chicken has been the top of the list combination for causing food borne illnesses resulting in QALY loss. Even in Canada, this pathogen has been found to be responsible for approximately 8% of the annual food borne illnesses. It is helpful for the general public to know about the common procedures we can do to prevent the spread of these organisms into other foods. One that comes to my attention is to wash the chicken. Many would think that washing chicken could possibly be beneficial in terms of food safety. However as said in the blog, this could lead to cross contamination and can potentially be another safety hazard. The chicken challenge, as established by the government, provides a great platform for the public to investigate into more food safe knowledge. Not only is this knowledge helpful for dealing with Campylobacter, but it can also be essential for effectively treating other foodborne pathogens in food. To conclude, food safety is also in our hands!
YueDai 11:48 am on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
Ensuring food safety in our community is the top responsibility of food industry and food-related government agencies, but it also requires public awareness and correct food handling at the household level. Some tough food safety challenge, like Campylobacter in raw chicken in this blog, can be easily controlled by good kitchen practice. In these circumstances, it may be more cost-efficient for governments to invest in public food safety education. Also, lots of common food pathogens share the same prevention methods in home kitchens. Cooking food thoroughly is a really good example.
YaoWang 12:39 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
It’s quite amazing that although the UK government has taken some steps to reduce Campylobacter in the chickens produced in UK poultry slaughterhouses with more than 1000 cfu/g from 27% to 10% by 2015, the actual level is still 9% higher than expected. But it’s a great idea for them to encourage the public to share messages that demonstrate proper food handling methods to their family and friends. I like the tips you provided for good kitchen practice though, especially the second one “don’t wash raw chicken”. My family actually always wash raw chicken thoroughly over the sink before cooking, which is completely wrong. Good reminder! Thanks!
CandiceZheng 2:11 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
As a food scientist you should definitely prevent your family from doing that lol! Thanks for your comment!
SunnyHuan 2:18 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
Wow, nice to know that there is no need to wash the raw meat before cooking, and washing raw meat could cause cross contaminzation and become a food safety issue.
YaoDongYu 2:20 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
It is hard to believe that campylobacter levels after a few years if UK government regulation and control (since 2008) still have such significant test results. These information should definitely be emphasized to the public to advertise safe handling of raw chicken (in general, people tend to believe chicken are safer than raw pork and beef)
Stephanie Chen 4:12 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
Despite the UK government’s aims to reduce Campylobacter in chickens produced in the UK and even sets targets to carry this out, the ultimate goal is to reduce the number of human infections. Success of meeting their targets relies on government policies and the industry, but it really comes down to the consumers being able to reduce the risk of Campylobacteriosis through safe food practices themselves. I like the UK government’s idea of the Chicken Challenge which gives very practical advice and an opportunity for the population to be involved in helping to reduce food-borne illness caused by Campylobacter. I enjoyed the campaign video as well and think it is a great and very creative way to educate kids who are even more vulnerable to this bacteria.
Stephanie Chen 4:26 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
Despite the UK government’s aim to reduce the level of Campylobacter on poultry produced in the UK and even sets targets to achieve this, the ultimate goal is to reduce the number of human infection. To achieve this target relies on government policies and the industry, but the reduction of Campylobacteriosis really comes down to the consumer’s safe food practices themselves. I really like the UK government’s idea of the Chicken Challenge which gives very practical advice and an opportunity for the population to be actively involved in helping to reduce food-borne illnesses caused by Campylobacter. I also enjoyed the campaign video and think it is a great and very creative way to educate kids who are even more vulnerable to this bacteria.
Stephanie Chen 4:27 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
Despite the UK government’s aim to reduce the level of Campylobacter on poultry produced in the UK and even sets targets to achieve this, the ultimate goal is to reduce the number of human infection. To achieve this target relies on government policies and the industry, but it really comes down to the consumer’s safe food practices themselves. I really like the UK government’s idea of the Chicken Challenge which gives very practical advice and an opportunity for the population to be actively involved in helping to reduce food-borne illnesses caused by Campylobacter. I also enjoyed the campaign video and think it is a great and very creative way to educate kids who are even more vulnerable to this bacteria.
ya gao 8:21 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
It is shocking to see that with all these work the government had done, the reduction of contamination of Campylobacter on poultry products is minimal. The data 1000cfu/g Campylobacter on sample is another shock. It is sad to see with all the regulations, policy, QA and QC in place, food safe is still a big threat in our society that is threatening citizens’ life. Despite the fact that we should work harder to improve our food processing procedure to possess minimal risk, citizens should learn essential food handling skill to prepare food safely. For the food handling tips present in this blog, I am surprising to see that we should avoid washing raw chicken before cooking. I used to do that all the time. Thanks for the helpful tip that I could learn from your post Candice!
Stephanie Chen 10:38 pm on October 16, 2015 Permalink |
Although the UK government aims to reduce the level of Campylobacter on poultry produced in the UK and even sets targets to achieve this, the ultimate goal is to reduce the number of human infection. To achieve this target relies on government policies and the industry, but it really comes down to the consumer’s safe food practices themselves. I really like the UK government’s idea of the Chicken Challenge which gives very practical advice and an opportunity for the population to be actively involved in helping to reduce food-borne illnesses caused by Campylobacter. I also enjoyed the campaign video and think it is a great and very creative way to educate kids who are even more vulnerable to this bacteria.
Alex Shen 10:37 am on October 17, 2015 Permalink |
Thanks for this great post! Although I found the test sophisticated to me, the conclusion here is rather useful: cook the chicken thoroughly. Saves me some time washing raw chicken:)
YueDai 8:27 pm on October 17, 2015 Permalink |
Ensuring food safety in our community is the top responsibility of food industry and food-related government agencies, but it also requires public awareness and correct food handling at the household level. Some tough food safety challenge, like Campylobacter in raw chicken in this blog, can be easily controlled by good kitchen practice. In these circumstances, it may be more cost-efficient for governments to invest in public food safety education. Also, lots of common pathogens in food share the same prevention methods in home kitchens. Cooking food thoroughly is a really good example.