Food Poisoning In Supermarket Chickens: Three In Four Are Health Hazard

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A bug that could paralyse or even kill you has been found in three-quarters of fresh-bought chickens.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the birds have tested positive for the potentially-deadly campylobacter, according to Food Standards Agency (FSA) survey.

Out of those chickens, around one-fifth were found to contain the highest rate of the bug, which affects a staggering 280,000 people every year.

Campylobacter is invisible to the eye and cannot be smelled or tasted and the side-effects can be extremely unpleasant and even dangerous.

Those who catch it from eating uncooked food can suffer from vomiting, sever stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

It can even give the victim life-long conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and, in rare cases, can cause paralysis or even death.

The newly-released FSA survey took place over the course of 12 months, up to February this year.

It looked at how common and how much of the bug was found in fresh whole chilled chickens and their packaging.

The survey blasted major retailers for failing to reach the industry target for reducing the bug over the course of the year.

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Supermarket giant Asda was found to have a higher-than-average incidence of chicken contaminated at the highest level.

Tesco, who recently announced a £6.4bn loss in profits, were the only supermarket to fall below the industry average.

The FSA now aims to cut the number of cases of campylobacter in half by the end of the year.

They advise that people not wash raw chicken in case of splashes and to always clean areas that the food has touched with hot water and soap.

The food should also be cooked fully with no pink meat.