Food safety tests carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have uncovered a rather alarming statistic regarding chicken.

 

According to the FSA reports, three-quarters of fresh chickens on sale in UK supermarkets and butchers are contaminated with the potentially lethal food-poisoning bug campylobacter.

 

The shocking statistics were revealed the same week as a similar report was released in Ireland, stating that over half of Irish chickens contain the bacteria.

 

Potentially life-threatening to the very young and old, campylobacter can result in vomiting and gastroenteritis, but can be killed by cooking the chicken thoroughly.

 

According to previous research, around 280,000 people in the UK become sick from the bug every year.

 

 

Urging consumers to be careful when preparing chicken, FSA director of policy Steve Wearne commented: “Campylobacter is killed by thorough cooking, but it should not be left to consumers to manage the risk. Poultry is the source of the majority of [food-poisoning] cases, so the industry should be making every effort to ensure chickens are as free from campylobacter as possible before they reach customers.”

 

This statistic is very alarming, and just goes to show that we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to selecting and preparing food.

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