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Food poisoning bug 'found in 73% of shop-bought chickens' Food poisoning bug 'found in 73% of shop-bought chickens'
(35 minutes later)
Some 73% of fresh shop-bought chicken tested positive for food poisoning bug campylobacter in a year-long study by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).Some 73% of fresh shop-bought chicken tested positive for food poisoning bug campylobacter in a year-long study by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The survey tested about 4,000 samples of whole chickens bought from UK retail outlets and independent stores. The survey tested about 4,000 samples of whole raw chickens bought from UK retail outlets and independent stores.
All of the major retailers failed to reach industry targets to reduce the bug over the period of the study, the FSA said. All of the major retailers failed to reach industry targets to reduce the bug over the period of the study.
Campylobacter is the most common form of food poisoning in the UK. But the FSA said Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, the Co-op and Waitrose had since seen a fall in contamination.
An estimated 280,000 people a year are affected by it, with poultry the source of most of the cases. The four retailers carried out their own case studies to show how their plans to reduce levels of campylobacter are working, the results of which have also been published.
The FSA said 19% of the chickens had the highest rate of the bug. This data - from tests carried out on more recent samples than the FSA study - showed "significant decreases in the incidence of campylobacter on their raw whole chickens", the agency said.
'Challenge to retailers'
Campylobacter is the most common form of food poisoning in the UK. An estimated 280,000 people a year are affected by it, with poultry the source of most of the cases.
The FSA study, which ran from February 2014, looked at the prevalence and levels of campylobacter contamination on the chickens and their packaging.
It said 19% of the chickens tested positive for the bug at the highest level of contamination.
Asda had a higher-than-average incidence of chicken that was contaminated at the highest level, according to the results.Asda had a higher-than-average incidence of chicken that was contaminated at the highest level, according to the results.
Tesco was the only major supermarket to fall below the industry average, according to the FSA. Tesco was the only major supermarket with a lower rate of chickens contaminated at the highest level, when compared with the industry average, according to the FSA.
The study, which ran from February 2014, looked at the prevalence and levels of campylobacter contamination on the chickens and their packaging. Steve Wearne, FSA director of policy, said: "I want to challenge those retailers who haven't yet demonstrated the impact that M&S, Morrisons, the Co-op and Waitrose are having on reducing campylobacter on chickens on their shelves.
"We expect all retailers and processors to be achieving the reductions we have seen in these retailers' figures - that's the only way we will meet the target we all signed up to."
A second year of testing to measure the impact of moves introduced by the food industry to tackle the problem will begin in summer.