Food Standard Scotland (FSS) continues to work in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to reduce levels of foodborne illness in Scotland and reduce the public’s risk from Campylobacter. On 19 August, the FSA published a report which demonstrated that consumers across the UK want to see more action to reduce Campylobacter levels in chicken in the ongoing effort to reduce the number of people who are affected by Campylobacter poisoning.
The report explored consumer views, using a representative sample of over 1,000 respondents across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales and revealed that two thirds of consumers want the food industry to continue to reduce Campylobacter beyond the current target of less than 10% of chickens at the most highly contaminated level. The research has been released to coincide with the resumption of the Campylobacter survey, which was suspended in April to update its methodology to ensure results continued to be robust.
The Campylobacter survey, which started in 2014, showed a reduction in the number of chickens that tested positive for the highest level of contamination (from 19% in December 2014, to 11% in February 2016).
The current survey will run from August 2016 to July 2017 and will sample 4,000 fresh whole chilled chickens from all major UK retailers and independent shops. The results will be published on a quarterly basis with the first set of results is expected in January 2017.
[Source: FSS News Release, 19 August 2016. Campylo… href=”http://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/news/consumers-call-reduction-Campylobacter-chicken” target=”_blank”>http://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/news/consumers-call-reduction-Campylo…]
Vol: 50 No: 34 Year: 2016 Type: Current Note
FoodWorld 