You may have heard our Chief Executive Catherine Brown being interviewed on BBC radio 4’s Face the Facts programme earlier this week. Catherine was talking about Campylobacter and urging industry to ‘take responsibility and sort this problem out’.
Of all the bacteria and viruses the FSA deals with in its drive to reduce foodborne disease, Campylobacter is one of the most difficult to tackle. It is endemic in UK poultry flocks, and the incidence of illness caused by Campylobacter is increasing.
The main source of Campylobacter infection is Chicken, which is responsible for 60% to 80% of Campylobacter cases.
The FSA is working on Campylobacter in partnership with the food industry and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The Agency is also funding research on Campylobacter in collaboration with Defra and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
The food industry is investigating a range of interventions, including rearing systems in the hope of breeding poultry flocks that would be resistant to the bacteria, but for the moment this is at the trial stage.
Until these come to fruition, and given the urgent need to stem the increase in food poisoning, we would urge caterers and consumers to also take action where they can influence controlling this bug in kitchens across the UK to help to reduce human infections by heeding our current advice on handling raw chicken. Our advice is: when you are cooking chicken, don’t wash it. This will help to avoid cross-contamination in the kitchen. However, ensure you wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw chicken, dispose of packaging carefully, use separate knives and chopping boards for raw meat, and cook the meat properly to destroy any bacteria it might contain.