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Asda Sold Most Chickens Infected With Deadly Food Poisoning Bug Campylobacter, FSA Report Reveals

Asda Sold Most Chickens Contaminated With Deadly Food Poisoning Bug
Sara C Nelson
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Asda has been exposed as the supermarket with the highest proportion of chickens contaminated with a deadly food poisoning bacterium, it has emerged.

A report from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the cumulative results from the first two quarters of its year-long survey of fresh chickens found 70% tested positive for the presence of campylobacter, up from 59% in August.

Campylobacter contamination of fresh shop-bought chickens has significantly increased since August, with every major retailer failing to meet targets to reduce the food poisoning bug, results show.

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Campylobacter contamination can cause intestinal infections

Almost a fifth of all chickens (18%) tested positive for the bug above the highest level of contamination, or 1,000 colony forming units per gram (cfu/g), and 6% of packaging tested positive - up from 4% in August.

The FSA also named rates among retailers for the first time, revealing that Asda sold the highest percentage of chickens contaminated with campylobacter at 78%, with 28% showing the bug above the highest level of contamination and 12% of packaging testing positive.

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Almost three-quarters of chickens (73%) sold by the Co-operative tested positive, followed by Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Waitrose (69%), Marks & Spencer (67%) and Tesco (64%).

Individual figures for the discounters Aldi, Lidl and Iceland were not reported because their market share was based on 2010 figures and deemed too small, but the overall rate of campylobacter contamination among all retailers other than the major supermarkets was 76%.

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How To Avoid Food Poisoning
Know The Symptoms(01 of22)
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If you know the common symptoms of food-related illnesses, you can receive treatment more quickly, which can be particularly important if you contract one of the more dangerous illnesses. According to Health Canada, the most common symptoms of food poisoning are stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. If you have any of these symptoms, or suspect that you have contracted a food-borne illness, talk to your doctor.
Learn Your Risk Level(02 of22)
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Anybody can get food poisoning but there are some groups of people who are at particular risk of serious illness, or even death, if they contract a food-borne illness. Children younger than five, adults older than 60, pregnant women, and people with a compromised immune system are particularly at risk from food poisoning.
Clean, Clean, Clean(03 of22)
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Food safety involves more than just the food itself. It’s important to keep your preparation surfaces and tools clean as well. Wash your counters, cutting boards, dishes, and prep tools in hot soapy water, and wash anything used to touch raw foods before using them in any other prep.
Wash Your Hands(04 of22)
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Make sure you wash your hands often while cooking and handling food, with soap and warm water. If soap or water aren’t available, you can sanitize your hands with an alcohol-based solution. In particular, make sure you lather up after handling raw meat, poultry, or seafood. And if you handle pets, change diapers, or use the bathroom, wash well before you touch the food again.
Use Different Cutting Boards(05 of22)
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It’s a good idea to have separate cutting boards for meat and for vegetables and bread in order to prevent cross contamination, advises Home Safety, but if you don’t maintain separate boards make sure you wash them well after using them for raw meat, poultry, or seafood or unwashed produce. You can sanitize your cutting boards with a mild bleach solution.
Clean Produce(06 of22)
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It may seem harmless, but produce can transmit food-borne illnesses as well, particularly when it’s eaten uncooked. Wash under running water instead of soaking produce in the sink to avoid transferring bacteria from your sink to your food. Because they grow close to the ground, melons have been associated with food poisoning; clean the outside of watermelon or any other melons you serve before cutting or serving.
Danger Zone!(07 of22)
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Know the temperature danger zone for food, and keep yours out of it. The zone — between 4C (40°F) and 60C (140°F) — is the temperature where bacteria can grow more quickly. Your fridge should always be kept below 4°C. If you will have food outside in warm temperatures, take measures to keep it out of that zone by placing cold foods like egg salad in a cooler or using iced dishes, and keeping foods that should be hot at a temperature higher than 60°C. Food shouldn’t be kept at room temperature (or higher) outside for more than an hour on hot days, and try to keep your dishes out of the sun.
Store Meat Properly(08 of22)
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Store raw meat in your fridge in containers to keep them separate from other foods and prevent their juices from contaminating your fridge with bacteria. Raw meat, poultry, and seafood should be refrigerated or frozen within two hours, and freeze raw meat if you don’t plan to use it within two or three days after purchase. If you are marinading meat, do so in your fridge and not on the counter, and discard any leftover marinade that came into contact with raw meat.
Thaw Correctly(09 of22)
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Don’t leave raw meat, poultry, or seafood in the sink to thaw — remember, room temperature is within that danger zone that encourages speedy bacteria growth. Instead, thaw in the fridge or microwave, suggests Real Simple, and cook defrosted food as soon as possible.
Cook Properly(10 of22)
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If you’re barbecuing, don’t put your cooked meat, poultry, or fish on the same plate used to bring the raw meat outside — use separate plates for raw and cooked food.
Use A Meat Thermometer(11 of22)
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Checking the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and seafood can help to ensure that your food is cooked through and to the correct temperature — which is important because heat kills bacteria like E. coli, salmonella, and Listeria. Check the temperature at the thickest part of each piece, and avoid bone. When you’re checking hamburger patties, insert the thermometer into the side all the way to the middle.
Dealing With Leftovers(12 of22)
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Picnics and barbecues often leave the host and guests with delicious leftovers. Some food is even better the next day, but not if it’s been harbouring harmful bacteria overnight. Refrigerate or freeze all leftovers within two hours to prevent bacteria growth, eat leftovers within two to four days, and reheat hot foods to at least 74°C. Storing leftovers in a shallow container helps them to cool quickly and evenly, reducing the risk that harmful bacteria will grow.
When In Doubt, Throw It Out(13 of22)
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You can’t always tell a food is unsafe by looking at it, smelling it, or tasting it. If you aren’t sure if it’s safe, or if it’s been left out for more than two hours, toss it — it’s not worth the risk.
NEXT: Types Of Food Poisoning To Know(14 of22)
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Campylobacter Enteritis(15 of22)
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A common bacterial infection producing severe gastrointestinal upset that can hang around as long as two weeks. It's rarely fatal in healthy people.The culprits: Improperly slaughtered or processed meat not thoroughly cooked, contaminated vegetables, milk or water. Pets can also shed the bacteria through their "business."What it feels like: You'd pay closer attention to the flulike symptoms (fever, aches and pains) if you weren't running to the bathroom every 15 minutes of your life.Maybe you shouldn't have: Plucked that mass-processed pack of pork chops out of the "manager's special" bin. Also, if you really need to be told, leave seagulls alone. They're neither friendly nor tasty and are known to harbor higher concentrations of the bacteria. Common sense and decent kitchen cleanliness should protect you from needless downfall. Related: Are These 5 Foods Trying To Kill You?Photo via Flickr user StuartWebster (credit:Flickr: StuartWebster)
Cholera(16 of22)
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Contrary to what literature might have you believe, there will be no love in the time of cholera, only misery, woe and lots of diarrhea.The culprits: Contaminated water and eating raw or undercooked seafood that was hanging out in that water.What it feels like: Being slowly dried in a dehydrator that looks surprisingly like your bathroom while your abdomen is squeezed by a giant godlike fist. You might just want to set up shop in there for a spell, the toxin in the cholera bacteria causes any water in your body to "release." Replenish as you might, it likely won't stay in there very long. Keep at it diligently, though, and you'll be fine in about a week.Maybe you shouldn't have: Splashed around in a stagnant portion of the Meekong Delta for so long, or eaten those Mexican oysters with quite as much gusto.Photo via Flickr user philosophygeek (credit:Flickr: philosophygeek)
E. Coli Enteritis(17 of22)
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The black sheep of the food poisoning world, E. coli's the one with a strain that'll actually kill you regardless of treatment attempts. How subversive.The culprits: Escherichia coli, or E. for short, has one incredibly powerful strain: O157:H7, although other related strains can cause infection as well. This bacterium is found in mass-processed ground beef and on vegetables that were improperly cleaned or handled by contaminated fingers. What it feels like: You've been stabbed in the colon, which would explain the crippling cramps and other things that might happen if one were actually stabbed in the colon, including blood. Not that there's a "better" food poisoning to get, but this is one you really want to avoid.Maybe you shouldn't have: Eaten that rare burger of questionable origin while chugging raw milk in that crazy crowded public pool, all of which have been known to harbor the bacteria. Related: Update: New E. Coli Culprit In EuropePhoto via Flickr user khawkins04 (credit:Flickr: khawkins04)
Ciguatera (Fish Poisoning)(18 of22)
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An incurable disease caused by eating fish contaminated by coral algae toxins. A real doozy, with an estimated 50,000 cases each year. The culprits: Ciguatera is limited to fish of tropical origin. It's impossible to detect by seafood processors, and can't be killed by cooking or freezing. Live in fear of grouper, or continue on with your life with relatively minimal risk.What it feels like: At first, typical food poisoning symptoms may present, but the bigger problem with ciguatera is its severe and often irreversible neurological effects. These can include trouble sensing hot or cold, tingling "phantom limb" pain in the extremities and other symptoms that may be confused with anything from multiple sclerosis to heart failure. Maybe you shouldn't have: Hit that fried "mystery tropical fish" eating contest at that Margaritaville in that tropical location with your buddies. To minimize your risk of catching this seriously unfun bug, make sure you know what your fish is and if possible, where it came from. Larger fish from shallower waters in a tropical environment are your worst bet. Related: Trouble Brewing For The FDA. And, Sushi. Photo via Flickr user alonso_inostrosa (credit:Flickr: alonso_inostrosa)
Listeria(19 of22)
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The range of listeria infection, or listeriosis, lands you somewhere between asymptomatic and dead and can occur from eating or drinking basically anything that was grown, raised or milked.The culprits: Raw or improperly pasteurized dairy products, vegetables grown in contaminated soil (yup, it can live in soil), preserved and smoked meats (can be identified by a slippery or slimy film), canned and raw seafood and fresh fruit. What it feels like: A bad flu, although more serious complications like meningitis can occur in people with weakened immune systems, as well as in young children, pregnant women and the elderly. Maybe you shouldn't have: Eaten all those root vegetables straight from the ground without washing them right after milking your cow. I mean a hippie farmer's life is great, unless your land is rife with listeria. Photo via Flickr user bucklava (credit:Flickr: bucklava)
Staphylococcus(20 of22)
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This is the picnic food poisoning everyone warns you about, especially you, dude who brought the mayo-choked potato salad (try this one instead). The culprits: The bacteria releases its toxins at the comfy incubator that is room temperature food, which gives staph food poisoning its signature cookout-ruining reputation. The worst part? Reheating contaminated food won't kill it off. Actually the worst part is the symptoms.What it feels like: Explosive, and not in a romantic feelings kind of way. Within an hour of ingesting contaminated food, both ends will be entirely occupied for up to a day. The good news is, once it's out, it's out and you can get right back to the picnic. Oh wait, it's over. Maybe you shouldn't have: Microwaved that leftover potato salad thinking no bug could possibly survive the ordeal.Photo via Flickr user stu_spivack (credit:Flickr: stu_spivack)
Salmonella(21 of22)
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The bacteria that causes salmonellosis, or salmonella poisoning, has a serious reputation among poultry and their handlers, and BOY does it love hanging out on the stretches of counter you missed with the sanitizer.The culprits: Although eggs, processed chicken parts and other raw meat are particularly good at spreading the bacteria, pet reptiles and rodents are also carriers. Wash everything any dead or live animal comes in contact with and maybe don't allow live animals in the kitchen while you're cooking, period.What it feels like: Your small intestine betraying you entirely. Expect a week or so of your typical diarrhea, abdominal cramps and possibly a fever.Maybe you shouldn't have: Attempted your own Japanese-style chicken breast sashimi or let Shelly the turtle roam around willy-nilly on the cutting board. Especially before slicing said chicken sashimi.Photo via Flickr user Casper Jen (credit:Flickr: Casper Jen)
Shigellosis(22 of22)
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Similar to salmonella but yet so very different is shigella, which attacks the large intestine rather than the small. The culprit: You're going to love this -- human waste. While plenty of food-borne illness can be spread this way, particularly by catching a ride in food or water, many cases of shigellosis can be directly attributed to contact with... well, you know. It can also be resistant to antibiotics, so definitely practice safe sewage-wading.What it feels like: Salmonella, only with more blood.Maybe you shouldn't have: Taken on that blackout drunken dare to see what's really under that manhole by the creek, then gone straight to In-N Out. Just maybe. We live in a developed nation, you almost have to try to get this one. It's Darwinism, people.Photo via Flickr user Nathan Reading (credit:Flickr: Nathan Reading)

The FSA said Tesco was the only major retailer which had a lower incidence of chicken contaminated with campylobacter at the highest level compared with the industry average.

Asda was the only major retailer with a higher incidence of contaminated chicken.

However, the FSA said the results suggested that none of the retailers was achieving the joint industry end-of-production target for reducing campylobacter.

It said the overall increase in contamination from the first quarter was most likely due to the second quarter's samples being taken during the summer months, when an increase in campylobacter was often seen because of the warmer weather.

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The FSA published its results on Thursday

The 12-month survey, running from February 2014 to February 2015, will test 4,000 samples of whole chickens bought from UK retail outlets and smaller independent stores and butchers.

Campylobacter is killed by thorough cooking and can be limited by careful hygiene but it is the most common form of food poisoning in the UK, affecting an estimated 280,000 people a year, with poultry the source of the majority of these cases. It can be fatal among very young children, elderly and immunosuppressed individuals.

FSA director of policy Steve Wearne said: "These results show that the food industry, especially retailers, need to do more to reduce the amount of campylobacter on fresh chickens.

"Although we are only halfway through the survey, 18% of birds tested had campylobacter over 1000 cfu/g, the highest level of contamination, and more than 70% of birds had some campylobacter on them.

"This shows there is a long way to go before consumers are protected from this bug.

"If chicken is cooked thoroughly and preparation guidelines are properly followed, the risk to the public is extremely low.

"There are signs that some retailers are starting to step up to their responsibilities. When more do, we will see the sustained improvements that will help prevent many of their customers getting ill."

Retailers have rushed to announce measures to limit the bug in recent weeks, with the Co-operative and M&S introducing "roast in the bag" chickens to minimise handling at home.

Asda and its supplier Faccenda said they had committed to full-scale trials of new steam technology, although the FSA said any recent interventions would not yet be reflected in the survey results.

The British Poultry Council said today's figures showed that all producers and retailers had campylobacter levels in the same range.

It said: "This reinforces how universal and challenging the issue is and the complex nature of campylobacter. This data for the first half of 2014 reflects the historical trend of campylobacter peaking in the summer months, and we look forward to seeing the results from future surveys.

"It is right that consumers have plenty of information on which to base their buying decisions, be that on safety, welfare, convenience, or price.

"Campylobacter is not a new phenomenon and research into the bacteria has been ongoing for decades across the globe. We have made significant improvements in detection methods and diagnostics in recent years which will aid our continuing research and measuring the effects of any potential intervention."

The British Retail Consortium's director of food and sustainability, Andrew Opie, said: "Today's figures are an important reminder that we have not yet found a way to prevent the presence of campylobacter in raw chicken and supermarkets are working even harder to find solutions to help consumers such as leak-proof packaging for all raw chicken and new roast-in-the-bag products - this is our top priority for food safety.

"Retailers, farmers and producers have been working with the FSA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for many years as part of the joint government and industry campylobacter working group and millions have been invested into researching solutions for eradicating the bacteria.

"We are committed to continuing the search for a solution to campylobacter and we support the work of the FSA to get clear advice to consumers about proper cooking and kitchen hygiene.

"There has been concern that implementing a solution to prevent campylobacter will mean the cost of chicken increases but we believe any increase should be small and in our competitive market retailers will work with their suppliers to do everything they can to avoid passing this on to consumers."

But the consumer group Which? said supermarket bosses should "hang their heads in shame".

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "These results are a damning indictment of supermarkets and consumers will be rightly shocked at the failure of trusted household brands to stem the tide of increasingly high levels of campylobacter.

"It's now vital that the industry cleans up its act and works hard to restore consumer confidence. We want to see supermarkets not only publishing effective plans that tackle these scandalously high levels but also demonstrate they're taking real action to make chicken safe."

An Asda spokeswoman said: "We take campylobacter seriously and it goes without saying that we're disappointed with these findings. There is no 'silver bullet' to tackle this issue, but, along with other retailers, we're working hard to find a solution.

"We welcome the transparency of the FSA results and we are committed to food safety. We have led the industry in packaging innovation and were the first supermarket to launch roast-in-the-bag chicken, removing the need to handle raw meat.

"And we continue to work with our suppliers to ensure that we are doing everything we can to reduce the chances of our customers coming into contact with campylobacter, including investing in trialling a new procedure, SonoSteam, which, if successful, we will roll out across our suppliers.

"We also continue to offer shoppers helpful advice on how to safely prepare and cook chicken, which will kill off any trace of the bug."

Shadow food and farming minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: "Consumers will rightly expect that all retailers take this issue extremely seriously and put in place robust measures to tackle the industry-wide challenge of reducing levels of campylobacter in chickens.

"That's why the Labour Party welcomes the FSA's decision to publish the delayed results from its survey of campylobacter on shop-bought chicken, including naming retailers alongside campylobacter levels.

"After the horsemeat scandal and the recent allegations of hygiene failings in the poultry industry, the Government must show leadership and restore confidence in the food sector. The Government must ensure that a transparent FSA puts the consumer first and is able to challenge the industry to improve standards."

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