Category Archives: Food Microbiology Research

Farming UK

Transplanting gut microbes from chickens that are relatively resistant to Campylobacter bacteria into those that are susceptible does not improve resistance, a study shows.

The findings were labelled ‘unexpected’, as they contradicted previous studies in mice, scientists at the UK’s Roslin Institute found.

Campylobacter is a leading cause of food poisoning in people and is commonly found in chickens.

Infections are a serious problem in people, resulting in diarrhoea and severe complications in some cases.

Up to 80 percent of cases are caused by consumers handling and eating contaminated chicken meat.

Each year, it is estimated that more than half a million people in the UK are infected with Campylobacter and the disease costs the country approximately £50 million.

Wiley Online Library

Campylobacter is the chief cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in developed countries and poultry is considered as the main cause of infection. Nonetheless, of extensive scientific efforts to exterminate the Campylobacter and numerous measures currently implemented, it has not been successful to provide Campylobacter‐free poultry. Therefore, this study aimed to depict the level of perceived risk and identify the target groups who exhibit particularly unsafe behavior by surveying the general public residing in Ireland. A total of 1,171 participants from all over the Republic of Ireland contributed to the survey. Result reveals that a substantial number of consumers still lacks awareness. Not more than 9.5% were very knowledgeable, that is, those who attained 70% passing score and 30.7% attain a score between 50 and 70%. A total of 40.2% overall pass rate. Significant differences were found in their risk perception and gender (p ≤ .05), age (p ≤ .05), and education level (p ≤ .05). This study observed that male, age between 18 and 25 with primary or no qualification and living alone are the group who exhibit particularly unsafe behavior when preparing poultry and are require most in risk communication effort. By informing, elevating the awareness, and affirming the severity of the risk to the consumer, subsequently, the incidents of Campylobacteriosis can be reduced in the Irish population.