04.11.2011

A retail survey was undertaken to define the prevalence of Campylobacter and Salmonella in raw chicken products sold in the Republic of Ireland. Processor codes on pack labels showed that 67% of samples were produced in the Republic of Ireland and 25% in the United Kingdom. Salmonella was present in 5.1% of samples, but the eight serovars found caused less than 7% of human salmonellosis reported in the Republic of Ireland. The results suggest that on-farm controls to limit Salmonella infection of broilers have been successful and that in Ireland raw chicken is not a significant cause of salmonellosis in humans. The overall prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was 84.3%. 67% were Campylobacter jejuni and 32% were Campylobacter coli. These species are the most common cause of campylobacteriosis in man (J Food Protection 74:1912-1916; 2011).