May 18, 2011

UK's poultry industry to step up anti-bug measures

UK's poultry industry, with the backing of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), has launched a concerted effort to reduce the incidence of a campylobacter bug.

The campylobacter bug causes food poisoning lasting between 24 hours and a week and is acute in Scotland, where the number of cases soared by 32% to more than 41,000 in 2009 and by a further 3% last year.

FSA Scottish director Professor Charles Milne said scientists do not know the reason for the increase in Scotland. In England, the number of cases in 2009 was only 16% higher.

Most cases are linked to fresh chicken, and a survey has shown that 65% of fresh chickens sold in the UK are contaminated. It is not a problem with frozen or pre-cooked chicken.

"We want to stop the organisms reaching the kitchen by reducing the level of the disease in poultry flocks on the farm," said Milne.

Senior policy adviser, Dr Jacqui McEliney, said the aim was to reduce the highest level of contamination in flocks from 27% to 13% by 2013 and to 10% by 2015.

"We have estimated that achieving this target could mean a reduction in campylobacter food poisoning in the UK of up to 30%, which is equivalent to about 90,000 cases," said Dr McEliney.