73% of chickens carry food poisoning bug

Nearly three quarters of supermarket chickens are infected with the potentially lethal food poisoning bug campylobacter, with Asda the worst offender.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) tested more than 4,000 chickens from seven leading chains, budget stores and independent grocers between February last year and March 2015.

And, it found, 73% were infected, with nearly one in five turning out to have the highest level of contamination.

"The stark fact is that three out of four supermarket chickens people buy could be infected with a potentially fatal bacteria. It goes without saying that retailers, the industry and the FSA must continue with their efforts to crack down on campylobacter," comments Which? executive director Richard Lloyd.

"It's encouraging that some supermarkets are making headway in tackling this bug, but we must now see all retailers take urgent action to meet FSA targets and make chicken safe."

Asda had the worst results, with 80.5% of its chickens carrying the campylobacter bug and 29.9% contaminated at the highest level.

One in 300 Asda packs were even contaminated on the outside, meaning that just picking them up could be dangerous.

Large birds were found to be more frequently contaminated than small ones, and organic chickens were riskier too.

The FSA has set a target of no more than 10% of chickens being infected with campylobacter by the end this year - a target that looks set to be missed.

However, some supermarkets, including Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, Waitrose, Aldi and Iceland, have been effective in cutting their level of contamination.

"Thanks to the focus the survey has put on the industry, retailers and processers are starting to invest in new interventions to tackle the bug," says Steve Wearne, the FSA's director of policy.

As many as 280,000 people fall ill with campylobacter poisoning every year, of whom several hundred require hospital treatment and around 100 die.

How to keep your family safe

Don't wash raw chicken - cooking will kill campylobacter and other bugs, while washing chicken can spread germs through splashing.

Always cover raw chicken and store at the bottom of the fridge, so that juices can't drip on to other food and contaminate it.

Thoroughly wash and clean all utensils, chopping boards and surfaces used to prepare raw chicken, and always wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water after handling raw chicken.

Cook the bird thoroughly, checking that it is steaming hot with no pink meat and that juices run clear.

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