June 18, 2007

UK's "big four supermarkets" allegedly selling organic chicken containing campylobacter

Organic chickens sold by the "big four" supermarkets in the United Kingdom allegedly contain higher levels of food poison campylobacter, according to a television investigative programme.

The programme "Tonight with Trevor McDonald" showed scientists who tested organic birds from supermarkets Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons found that 41 out of the 46 birds (or 89 percent) sold contained campylobacter, the most common bacteria that cause food poisoning. This is higher compared factory farmed chickens which is 70 percent positive of carrying the bacteria in a trial conducted by the government.

The show also presented that 26 percent of the birds are also positive of carrying the antibiotic-resistant "superbug" form of campylobacter.

Professor Martin Blaser, head of medicine at New York Medical School and an expert on the bacteria, said public knowledge of knowing organic chicken is not free of campylobacter is important and same caution should also be applied the same way that non-organic chicken is.