October 10, 2014

 

 

Cooperation between concerned authorities and the poultry industry in New Zealand has curbed rising levels of campylobacter bacteria in meat, thanks to simple changes in poultry processing regulations.

 

In a recent presentation at the NZ Population Health Congress in Auckland, Gail Duncan of the Ministry of Primary Industries recalled that as early as 2006 the University of Otago brought to public attention the spiralling epidemic of campylobacter in New Zealand, mainly due to the consumption of poultry.

 

Campylobacter infection in New Zealand at the time was three times higher than in other countries.

 

"One of the main symptoms of campylobacter is severe diarrhoea, which makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable. Because it's also contagious it means people can't go to work for around 5-6 days. With a large number of people taking that much time off work it is going to have a significant financial impact," Ms. Duncan said.

 

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) then instituted a regulatory compliance programme to make the industry more accountable and reduce instances of illness, which was costing the tax payers nearly US$60 million every year.

 

The industry reviewed poultry processing practices and one of the more effective improvements done was in transporting chickens to the processing plants. Often their crates weren't cleaned between trips, contributing to cross-contamination among the chickens, Duncan said.

 

"Other changes the industry made included upgrading the equipment to make processing more efficient and hygienic, and conducting a complete overhaul of all practices to make sure each step was being conducted in the safest way possible," Duncan added.

 

Duncan said that following the changes, which were supported by regulatory requirements, a 58 percent reduction in campylobacter infection in New Zealand was noted in 2007 and 2008. She added that reductions continue to be maintained.

 

"With the significant reduction in cases of campylobacter, my research has calculated a saving of $57.4 million every year since the changes began," Duncan said.

 

She added that as a result of the high level of cooperation between the industry and the regulator to implement the changes, "there has been a very significant improvement in the prevention of this disease."

 

She said that if more improvements can be done by the poultry industry, "further reduction in campylobacter numbers and further savings to the tax payer of around $20 million are possible."