December 4, 2006

New Zealand launches strategy against campylobacter

In a move that was widely welcomed by New Zealand's poultry industry, the country's Food Safety Authority has launched a risk management strategy for reducing the campylobacter disease in poultry.

The gastrointestinal disease in poultry is widely believed to have caused sicknesses in humans.

The strategy ranges from increasing monitoring and preventive measures in poultry farming and processing to improving food handling practices and consumer hygiene.

The department is also launching a four-year investigation into the disease in New Zealand poultry. The Poultry Industry Association's executive director, Michael Brooks, says the poultry industry is also doing its own work to reduce infection levels.

The Food Safety Authority's executive director, Andrew McKenzie, said he expects the strategy would significantly reduce campylobacter infection levels.