One in five chickens has food poisoning bug

one in five supermarket chickens is contaminated with a food poisoning bacteria that poses a higher risk to children and pensioners, a study has found.

The investigation by the Which? consumer group sampled chicken from nine supermarkets.

The study found 18 per cent was contaminated with the baceria campylobacter, while 17 per cent was contaminated with listeria.

Of those with listeria, four per cent contained high levels as defined by the Food Standards Agency.

Salmonella was present in 1.5 per cent of samples.

Campylobacter food poisoning causes diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains and cramps and fever.

It is the most common cause of food poisoning in Britain, and can be contracted from a range of foods as well as pets.

A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said: “Anyone can get campylobacter, but young children under five years of age, those over 60, and people who work with farm animals or in the meat industry, and those travellers to developing countries, are at greater risk.

“It is impossible to tell from its appearance whether food is contaminated. It will look, smell and taste normal so correct handling and cooking are vital.”

Which? tested 192 samples of whole chickens and chicken portions – standard, free range and organic, and all reared in the UK – from Aldi, Asda, The Co-operative, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose in March. Bacterial contamination was found in samples from each of the retailers.

The watchdog stressed that the study was a “snapshot” as it tested each retailer on two days in different locations, and was therefore unable to definitively conclude that chicken from one supermarket was better than that from another.

However, the results indicated an improvement on 2009 when the agency found that 65 per cent of fresh chickens it tested were contaminated with campylobacter at the point of sale.

It said consumers could avoid the risk of food poisoning by practising good food hygiene and cooking chicken thoroughly.

The watchdog also repeated advice not to wash raw chicken as it could splash the bacteria on to sinks, worktops or nearby dishes, increasing the risk of cross-contamination.

Campylobacter is the most common of the more severe infections in Scotland, with 6,378 cases reported in 2009, an increase of 30.7 per cent compared to the 4,878 reports recorded in 2008 – a rate of 123.4 per 100,000 compared to 96 per 100,000.