Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk 24 August 2019 | The Grocer | 13analysis campylobacter
Levels have fallen at supermarkets, but remain high at indies
S
upermarkets have made
“significant reduc-
tions” in campylobac-
ter contamination since the FSA
launched its retail chicken sur-
vey in 2014, the regulator’s pol-
icy director Rebecca Sudworth
said last week.
In fact, the percentage of
chickens carrying the high-
est level of contamination of
the bug fell from 19.4% in 2015
to just 7% across the UK’s 10
largest supermarkets in the 12
months to July 2018.
But despite the success of the
FSA’s high-profile push to tackle
campylobacter in supermar-
ket chicken, it’s a very different
picture across smaller retailers,
butchers and independents.
According to the FSA’s fourth
annual campylobacter report,
some 15% of chickens in these
channels carried the high-
est level of contamination.
This suggested ‘more action is
needed to achieve better control
of campylobacter’, it warned.
So why are contamination
rates so much higher outside the
mults? And what can be done
about it?
The FSA says chicken sold
through independents makes
up about 20% of the total retail
chicken market. Reducing con-
tamination levels in these retail-
ers – who tend to be supplied by
smaller processors – will not be
a simple task, it admits. In fact,
it doesn’t yet have a definitive
plan for how to tackle this.
Smaller processors “may not
be in the same financial posi-
tion” to implement the often
costly and sophisticated inter-
ventions developed by major
processors, an FSA spokes-
woman suggests.
How can smaller retailers
catch up on campylobacter?
Richard Griffiths, CEO of
the British Poultry Council,
echoes this. The industry has
spent millions on tech such
as Sonosteam – which blasts
carcases with ultrasound and
steam – and other biosecurity
and hygiene measures to fight
campylobacter, he says. “But
it would be very difficult for
smaller producers to match that
investment.”
If the FSA wants to see
campylobacter levels across the
industry come down to the lev-
els seen in major supermarkets,
heavy investment is needed.
“We know what the problem is,
but the challenge for smaller
processors is how to fund these
interventions,” says Griffiths.
Not everyone agrees we know
what the problem is, how-
ever. Norman Bagley, policyKevin White
director at the Association of
Independent Meat Suppliers,
points out higher contamination
levels could be explained by
differences in sampling meth-
ods. Larger processors started
removing the bottom of chick-
ens’ neck flap (where the high-
est levels of the bug are found)
in 2016 following concerns over
testing discrepancies.
“This accounts for much
of the improvement shown,”
Bagley claims, adding it
remains a common practice
among smaller processors.
AIMS is now advising all pro-
cessors to trim neck flaps,
which could yet result in a
reduction in contamination
rates among smaller companies.Tougher checks
Professor Chris Elliott, the food
safety expert who authored the
government’s Horsegate review,
also wants the FSA to step up.
Campylobacter surveys to datehave picked at the low-hang-
ing fruit, he says. “The work
that’s been done has been help-
ful but hasn’t got to the root of
the problem. Smaller processors
just dont have the knowledge or
finances to tackle this issue and
no one has been checking on
their progress.”
Better environmental
health checks would make a
big difference, Elliott argues.
“Whenever food premises are
being inspected, why not check
for campylobacter in fridges at
the same time?” he suggests.
“It will be tough, but only by
engaging on this issue in these
areas can we really drive the
rates of campylobacter food poi-
soning down.”
The FSA, for its part, says
it will debate its strategy at
its next board meeting, on 18
September. Supermarkets may
have made good progress, but
the war to wipe out campylo-
bacter is only beginning.Interventions developed by bigger
processors may be too costly for
independents to implement