FSA’s campylobacter policy slammed
Asda topped the league table, published in November 2014, with a campylobacter score of 78% in its fresh chicken, while Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury and Waitrose all delivered levels of between 67– 69%.
“Policy makers are quite right to treat campylobacter as a priority. But I struggle with the way the FSA has profiled the supermarkets with scores. It felt it was more about the FSA looking after the FSA than helping to remedy the problem,” said Black.
‘Missing the point’
Singling out individual retailers for criticism would achieve very little in practical terms, he added. “What purpose can it serve? It’s a myopic view of a self-serving bureaucracy, which is missing the point to my mind. A lot of work has taken place in the retail chain.”
The FSA would have achieved far more by highlighting the need for improved hygiene practices in the home and the need for thorough cooking, said Black.
But an FSA spokesman said: “The levels of campylobacter on chicken are too high. The retailer survey is an important part of the strategy to reduce the levels of campylobacter on chicken. From the on-going results we will be able to see which interventions introduced by individual retailers are working best.”
The industry needed to bring the levels of campylobacter on chickens down before they reach the consumer, he said. “It is not good enough to put all of the responsibility to manage the risks on consumers.”
The British Retail Consortium said retailers were committed to continuing the search for a solution to campylobacter and supported the FSA’s work to get clear advice to consumers about proper cooking and kitchen hygiene.
“This advice is crucial in helping protect the public as there is currently no vaccine and no commercially available proven method of eliminating campylobacter,” said the BRC’s director of food and sustainability Andrew Opie.
Solutions
“Retailers have already introduced innovative packaging solutions to prevent the risks of contamination and provide consumers with clear safety advice and tips on hygiene,” he added. “We are working with suppliers on different interventions in processing such as rapid surface chilling [RSC] and Sonosteam.”
The British Poultry Council is working to develop interventions to combat campylobacter. “These chilling techniques [RSC] have shown promise, of around one log reduction, at the early trial stages,” said a spokesman.
“But only once the feasibility of the technology has been thoroughly assessed by producers and the specialist machinery manufacturers can we have a complete understanding on the efficacy, cost and other operational impacts of the system.”
