Supermarkets Named And Shamed On Chicken Bug

Seventy percent of chickens sold in major supermarkets tested positive for the presence of campylobacter - the UK’s biggest cause of food poisoning, a Food Standards Agency (FSA) study shows.

Of that chicken, 18% of it was contaminated at the very highest level.

Asda was found to have a higher incidence of contaminated chicken, compared to the industry average while Tesco was the only one of the main retailers to have a lower incidence of the bug - based on previous studies.

It was the first time individual chains were identified by the FSA's rolling year-long study on campylobacter levels.

The watchdog said none of the UK’s retailers were currently achieving the joint industry target for reducing contamination.

Steve Wearne, FSA Director of Policy, said, "These results show that the food industry, especially retailers, need to do more to reduce the amount of campylobacter on fresh chickens.

"There is a long way to go before consumers are protected from this bug."

But he added: "There are signs that some retailers are starting to step up to their responsibilities.

"When more do, we will see the sustained improvements that will help prevent many of their customers getting ill."

The report contained the results from the first half of the survey, in which an increase in contamination from the first quarter to the second quarter was recorded.

That was most likely, the FSA said, due to the second quarter’s samples being taken during the summer when climatic conditions were more beneficial for bacterial growth.

The food regulator is testing 4,000 samples of whole chickens bought from a range of UK retail outlets from February 2014 to February 2015.

Food-borne campylobacter is blamed for making more than 280,000 people ill each year but effective cooking and kitchen hygiene measures kill the bug.

A consumer group which has campaigned on the issue, Which?, urged retailers to clean up their act.

Executive director Richard Lloyd said: "These results are a damning indictment of supermarkets and consumers will be rightly shocked at the failure of trusted household brands to stem the tide of increasingly high levels of campylobacter.

"Supermarket bosses should hang their heads in shame."

Chains insisted they were making progress.

Morrisons told Sky News: "We have introduced a number of improvements since the FSA collected its data in August this year.

"From Monday, Morrisons packaging of whole chickens will contain stronger advice to consumers, and from January next year we will be introducing roast in a bag to half of our range of whole chickens."

The Co-op said it was also introducing roast-in-bag chickens, alongside other retailers, to remove the threat posed by the bug.

Tesco said it was working with its suppliers on new innovations including the very first full scale trial of rapid surface chilling, "to ensure we remain at the forefront of any developments to reduce Campylobacter further in raw poultry."