UK poultry found to have heavy presence of campylobacter

Campylobacter was detected in 65 percent of UK chicken samples, while salmonella was found in only six percent of samples, according to the findings of a new survey testing published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The figure rises to 76.1 percent for solely British meat, and the contamination level of chickens from major supermarkets was higher than for small butchers.

The result is disappointing and the FSA needs to continue working with poultry producers and retailers to reduce campylobacter levels, said Andrew Wadge, Director of Food Safety at the FSA.

Other countries such as New Zealand and Denmark have kept its campylobacter levels low and the UK needs to emulate that progress, he said.

The FSA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) aim to halve campylobacter contamination of fresh chicken between 2005 and 2010.

The Food Standards Agency said the campylobacter can be killed if the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

The UK-wide survey of fresh chicken at retail was carried out between May 2007 and September 2008. During the course of the survey, 3,274 samples were tested for the presence of campylobacter and salmonella.