Campylobacter is the most common form of food poisoning in the UK, causing severe diarrhoea and vomiting. Each year it infects about 280,000 people. Estimates in recent years have put the annual death toll at around 100. The annual cost to the UK economy is estimated at £900m. That compares with the £6bn value of the UK poultry industry’s annual sales.
THE CULPRIT
Chicken
Around 80% of all the campylobacter infections, are linked to chickens, which carry the bug in their guts and faeces. About 65% of raw chicken on sale in UK supermarkets and butchers is contaminated with it, according to Food Standards Agency tests in 2008. The FSA ordered new tests this year because it believes the problem is as bad as ever.
Why is our chicken so dirty?
To clean up the system would cost money. With constant pressure from supermarkets to keep the price of chicken low, and the industry working on high volumes but low margins, experts say the campylobacter problem has been left unsolved for years.
The weakest links
Experts know the key points from farm to fork that present the greatest risk of contamination and need cleaning up, but so far the industry and retailers have not been prepared to pay the cost.
THE FARM
Intensive production
Industrial production makes poultry particularly vulnerable. To maximise profit from floor space, farmers typically overstock their sheds with chicks and thin some out after a few weeks. Campylobacter is often spread from flock to flock at this “thinning” stage. Densely housed birds kept in low light tend to panic and defecate when catchers enter sheds, causing further contamination.
Transport
Live chickens are typically transported in crates, meaning campylobacter-carrying faeces can fall through the gaps from crate to crate. Minimising stress to the birds would help, but constantly changing demand can mean birds are left in crates for hours. Sometimes where there are breakdowns they may be left overnight.
THE ABATTOIR
It may only take one infected bird to contaminate a whole batch at the slaughter stage, thanks to the industrial processes:
Defeathering and scald tank
After slaughter, chickens pass through a scald tank of hot water to loosen the feathers before plucking. The water in the tanks is generally only changed at the end of a shift and after a few hours it can be a soup of faeces. Pressure on carcasses from the automated rubber fingers that pluck the birds can cause further contamination. Workers have reported production lines running late in to the night under pressure of orders, leaving inadequate time for cleaning, and tanks not being cleaned for days at a time when pumps break down.
Evisceration
The guts of chickens are scooped out by an automated metal fist and can spread contamination at this point. The risk is reduced when lines are adjusted for different-sized crops of birds, but that slows down production and costs money. Clearly contaminated birds should be removed but the speed of the lines mean some are missed. Strict hygiene practice reduces cross-contamination but isn’t always adhered to.
Cutting and Packing
Poor hygiene in the final stages of processing, when workers cut and pack chicken for retail sale or food service, can spread contamination. When factories are under pressure to meet targets, workers report corners being cut, for example, inadequate hand washing. They also report that chickens that have been dropped on the floor are put back into production. Companies say that chickens from the floor are always disposed of as waste.
THE PUBLIC
Supermarket
Previous tests found campylobacter on the surface of packs, which could contaminate other food in shoppers’ trolleys. Supermarkets say they have new leak-proof packaging; the latest FSA tests are checking the claim.
Kitchen
Campylobacter can be killed by cooking, but is easily spread from raw meat to other surfaces in the kitchen. Washing raw chicken can spread the bug to taps and worktops and is no longer recommended. The rise in sales of raw meat packaged with ready-made sauces is another risk for contamination.
How do I find clean chicken?
We have become accustomed to rock bottom prices that depend on a model of industrial production in which routine contamination with food poisoning bugs appears unavoidable. How much more would it cost to buy clean chicken?
A standard fresh chicken costs around £4.50 today; a free range one will be sold for a premium and an organic one reared to slaughter weight over 12 rather than six weeks will cost more than twice that. There is no guarantee however that organic birds in the supermarket are less contaminated by campylobacter.
Flocks may become infected by wild birds or vermin on the farm, and the vast majority of free range and organic birds are in any case slaughtered in the same abattoirs as conventional ones.
There are a handful of exceptions – for example Sheepdrove organic farm has its own abattoir on the farm and has invested heavily in new technology which dispenses with the scald tank and its associated contamination. It also runs its lines at a fraction of the speed of other factories so workers have time to examine carcasses carefully. For added comfort, they play a CD of farm sounds in the chicken nursery to help prepare them for the outdoor environment. But a chicken from here, available through online orders, will set you back £16.
Some farmers at farmers’ markets will also be slaughtering and processing their own birds. They are not guaranteed free of campylobacter but will have escaped the high risk points in industrial abattoirs.
Good hygiene in the kitchen also reduces the risk. Chicken, like other raw meats, should be stored separately from other food and should be cooked properly to kill campylobacter bugs. The official advice has been updated recently and now discourages consumers from washing fresh chicken since it may spread campylobacter to other surfaces such as worktops and taps.
It’s worth remembering that every time we wash down a chopping board we as consumers are being expected to clean up the mess the industry has made of our food.
Sources: FSA/British Poultry Council/Mintel/personal comms; Guardian Film