Advertisement

  1. National

FSA looking to name food bug chicken retailers 'quickly'

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) will attempt to name the retailers who sell chicken which has tested positive for a food poisoning bug "more quickly" after criticism from a consumer group.

Which? criticised the FSA for not revealing that almost three fifths of fresh shop-bought chicken tested positive for campylobacter but failed to name any retailers who sold it.

Campylobacter is killed by thorough cooking, but is the most common form of food poisoning in the UK, affecting an estimated 280,000 people a year, and the majority of these cases come from contaminated poultry.

View all 10 updates ›

Coop: 'No retailer can claim to be campylobacter free'

Preparing and cooking chicken properly is the best way to for people to ensure that their poultry is safe to eat, according to The Cooperative supermarket group.

Preparing and cooking chicken properly is best way to avoid campylobacter. Credit: PA Wire

In response to the FSA-report into the bug, a spokesperson said: "No retailer can claim to be campylobacter free. However, if consumers follow the preparation and cooking guidelines they can be certain that their poultry is safe to eat."

They added: "All raw meats may contain naturally occurring food poisoning organisms and it is important that raw meat products are handled with care and thoroughly cooked as this destroys these bacteria."

They also advised that consumers wash their hands after handling raw meats and the packaging and too keep raw meats away from ready to eat foods.

  1. Read more
  2. 10 updates
FSA looking to name food bug chicken retailers 'quickly'

More top news