09.07.2013

Draft annual report of the chief scientist 2012/13

Campylobacter causes severe diarrhoea and abdominal pain and in some cases longer term chronic after effects. It is the most common bacterial cause of food poisoning in the UK. Over recent years the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of campylobacter has continued to rise. New figures published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) reveal the number of cases has been rising every year for the past four years.

There were 72,571 laboratory-confirmed cases in 2012, compared with 72,249 in 2011 – an increase of 0.04%. However, the actual number is expected to be eight times higher.

Cases of salmonellosis in the UK continue to fall since the implementation of a vaccination programme for chickens in the late 1990s and continued improvements to egg and poultry hygiene. There were 9,184 confirmed cases of salmonella across the UK in 2012, compared with 9,456 in 2011.

Poultry processing: The Government watchdog is now considering drastic measures to clean up chicken and protect consumers. These include killing the bugs by either washing the meat with lactic acid or the use of blast freezing.
Using a lactic acid wash to disinfect the birds has its own difficulties with evidence that many consumers have an instinctive dislike of the idea.