Scope and objectives
In response to a request from the 52nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food
Hygiene (CCFH), the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk
Assessment (JEMRA) convened a meeting in Rome, Italy from 6 to 10 February
2023, to collate and assess the most recent scientific information relevant to the
control of thermotolerant Campylobacter species C. jejuni and C. coli (hereafter
Campylobacter) in broiler production and chicken meat, including a review of
the Codex Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in Chicken
Meat (CXG 78-2011).1
The scope was focused on aspects of broiler primary production from the point of
chick placement into production establishments to consumer handling.
The objectives were to identify and assess control measures for Campylobacter in
the broiler production chain. The expert committee reviewed the available data
on Campylobacter control including scientific literature published from 2008 to
October 2022 and data submitted in response to a call for data for this meeting. The
experts:
1) determined the quality and quantity of evidence of control measures
for Campylobacter,
2) evaluated the impact of measures to control Campylobacter
in the broiler production chain,
3) determined which hazard-based interventions
pertained specifically to Campylobacter and which were general to the control
of foodborne pathogens in the pre- and post-harvest broiler production chain,
and
4) reviewed and recommended revisions to the Guidelines for the Control of
Campylobacter and Salmonella in Chicken Meat (CXG 78-2011), paragraphs 1 to
115, based on the currently available scientific evidence (Annex 3).
Control measure evaluation began at the time of chick placement since there
is currently no evidence that parent flocks or hatchery practices contribute to
the colonization of broiler chicks. The available literature on interventions was
predominantly based on laboratory and pilot studies, with few commercial
scale applications; therefore, limited conclusions could be reached. The experts
recommend the use of a combination of multiple interventions approach) suitable to production and processing stages to lower Campylobacter contamination on chicken me
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