It is a new health scandal that has just broken out in the United Kingdom, with the publication of a Food Standard Agency survey (FSA) on November 27, on supermarket chickens.
70% of chickens sold in supermarkets are believed to be contaminated with Campylobacter bacteria, one of the major causes of diarrheal diseases such as gastroenteritis. These intestinal infections, often without consequences in healthy adults, can prove fatal in young children, the elderly or immunocompromised individuals.
The analysis was carried out on 1,995 samples of refrigerated chickens as well as their packaging. In all, 70% of the chickens analyzed were contaminated by the bacteria, as well as 6% of their packaging. And among these chickens, 18% tested positive for Campylobacter at a high level of contamination (1000 colony forming units per gram, or cfu / gr).
According to the FSA, all British supermarkets would be affected by this reality, to a greater or lesser extent. And each year in the UK, 280,000 people are affected by this bacteria, 80% of them after consuming chicken. In the European Union, it is the most frequently reported foodborne illness.
Simple precautions to avoid infection
First present in the feces and throats of chickens, the bacterium is transmitted to humans when it comes into contact with raw meat, or when the cooking is insufficient. A previous FSA study showed that washing chicken before cooking can spread bacteria, increasing the risk offood poisoning.
To do this properly, you must therefore carefully wash your hands as well as any utensils that have come into contact with the raw chicken, and favor complete cooking, at a minimum of 70 ° C. If we keep our chicken raw for some time in the refrigerator before eating it, it is placed in a closed container so that it does not contaminate other foods. As for the plastic bag and the packaging in which we transported the chicken, it is better to throw them directly in the trash, advises the FSA. Freezing before consumption is also an effective method, since it eradicates all Campylobacter bacteria.
In addition, the hygiene standards of slaughterhouses are also called into question in the transmission of the bacteria, during the evisceration of chickens or when they are packaged before being sent to supermarkets.
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