Asda hit hardest by latest campylobacter results

By Rod Addy

- Last updated on GMT

Improperly cooked chicken contaminated with campylobacter is the top cause of UK food poisoning
Improperly cooked chicken contaminated with campylobacter is the top cause of UK food poisoning

Related tags Campylobacter Supermarket

Retailers have again failed to reach targets for campylobacter contamination in fresh shop-bought chickens, with almost three quarters of samples in the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) latest survey results testing positive for the bug. 

A total of 73% of shop-bought whole raw chickens tested positive for the pathogen, according to the data, which consolidates nine months of figures​.

Almost one in five tested positive for the highest levels of contamination - more than 1,000 colony forming units per gramme.

Of all the retailers named, Asda proved the worst offender, with 78.9% of samples testing positive for some level of contamination.

It was closely followed by Morrisons, with a score of 76.2%. In third place was the Co-operative Group, with 76.5% of its chickens indicating some degree of taint. Tesco achieved the best results, with 68.2% of samples contaminated.

‘No quick fix’

A spokeswoman for Asda said it was committed to doing everything it could to tackle the problem, but stressed there was no “quick fix” that would solve it overnight.

“We were the first supermarket to introduce Roast in a Bag Chicken, which has been named Product of the Year 2015,”​ she said. “Following customer research, we have decided to move the majority of our range into this packaging, which removes the need for customers to handle raw meat.

“We continue to work collaboratively with our suppliers on industry leading initiatives including Sonosteam, which applies a steam and ultrasound to whole birds that kills campylobacter. Initial trials are positive and we expect to have full results soon.

“We have invested time and money into examining each step of our supply chain from factory to shelf to assess our processes and to avoid any opportunity for cross contamination.”

Asda’s guidance to customers remained the same, she said: they should refrain from washing chickens, which could spread contamination through splashing. If they cooked them properly, this would kill all traces of the pathogen, she added.

‘Unacceptable’

Richard Lloyd, executive director of consumer group Which?, said: “It’s unacceptable that we’re still seeing such high and rising levels of campylobacter in chicken. While four major supermarkets have made their action plans public, the remaining three have yet to say how they’re planning to tackle this bug.

“People need reassurance that supermarkets are doing everything they can to make chicken safe. The remaining retailers must publish their plans and commit to action now before consumer​s lose confidence​ in them.”

While stressing that more work needed to be done, the FSA welcomed Marks & Spencer’s (M&S’s) recently implemented five-point intervention plan to reduce campylobacter on its chickens.

It highlighted preliminary results published by M&S yesterday​ (February 26) indicating a significant reduction in the number of the most highly contaminated birds.

M&S’s approach, in partnership with 2 Sisters Food Group, entailed bonuses for campylobacter-free farms, better farm biosecurity, blast surface chilling, clear labelling and double bagging of chickens.

Steve Wearne, FSA director of policy, said: “We now know it is possible to make positive inroads in the reduction of campylobacter. Figures released today by M&S show that their intervention plan has resulted in fewer contaminated chickens on sale in their stores. If one retailer can achieve this campylobacter reduction through systematic interventions then others can, and should.

“Our survey is putting pressure on retailers to work with poultry processors to do more to tackle campylobacter. We want the industry to reduce the number of the most highly contaminated chickens as we know this will have the greatest impact on public health.”

The British Poultry Council (BPC) welcomed the survey results, highlighting the food industry’s progress in battling campylobacter in stores.

‘Significant progress’

“We welcome the news that retailers and their suppliers are making significant progress, and hope that proven technology will be made commercially available across the sector,” ​said BPC ceo Andrew Large, commenting on the results.

“The BPC remains committed to collaborative working between industry, retailers, and regulators, as we believe this is where long-term consistency will emerge. This joint effort is a complement to the creativity and investment we are seeing.”

“We are pleased to see the FSA's commitment to solving this problem remains as strong as our own, and we look forward to being able to demonstrate good progress as we move through 2015.”

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at trade body the British Retail Consortium, said:

“Tackling campylobacter is our number one priority and retailers continue to invest with suppliers to find a practical solution. Unfortunately this is a complex organism but we are determined to find a solution as quickly as possible”

The FSA plans to publish 12-month figures in May. Previous quarterly data it released in November​ showed an average of 70% of samples were contaminated by campylobacter. Figures for the six-month period echoed the latest results, with Asda coming out worst, with 78% of samples contaminated.

Summary of overall contamination by top seven retailers surveyed

Retailer

Number of samples

% skin samples positive for campylobacter

Asda

491

78.1

Morrisons

271

76.2

Co-op Group

274

75.6

M&S

103

72.2

Waitrose

96

71.7

Sainsbury

451

69.6

Tesco

925

68.2

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3 comments

Retailers have responsibilities too.

Posted by Jeremy Hall,

Saying Campylobacter is endemic in all broiler chicken is not a reason to do nothing about the ten consumers that die each month after being infected by campylobacter.
You cannot blame their poor cooking, as too many are being infected to blame it on customers of these retailers.
They owe it to customers to offer for sale food that is safe to purchase and place in the fridge and handle in the kitchen.
Processors offered to pay part of the treatment costs, and retailers and the consumer should pay a small price rise to ensure safety in the home.
Forget competing on price, and fear of discounters, offer your customers products with the lower loadings that the FSA and the EU Food safety teams say will reduce campylobacter infections in UK customers by between 50% and 90%.

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Don't pick on ASDA!

Posted by David Roberts,

These figures are broadly the same for all supermarkets, as with any numerical table there is always a top and a bottom and these percentage gaps are not statistically relevant. The whole point though is that this is not within supermarkets control, Campylobacter is endemic in chickens and is a problem entirely of breeding and production. Sorting this out is how we eliminated the Salmonella epidemic and nothing will improve until this is done. As a consumer if you must buy chicken buy a cooked one!

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Gas Mark 4

Posted by Chris,

Or you could just expect people to know how to cook it properly and clean up afterwards? Just saying.....

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