More should be done to stop Campylobacter

I’m not sure I would want to share agricultural advances with the US. I believe they introduced use of antibiotics in farming to boost yields. Scientists have been forewarning us of the dangers of misusing antibiotics in this way for decades. Making money is what matters in business, not the consequences of antibiotic resistance at some time in the future.

As I understand it, mass produced chickens carcasses are effectively bathed in dilute chicken faeces during processing, so that even birds that were not previously contaminated will be. We cannot rely on the birds being cleaned properly by handlers, often inexperienced, working under unpleasant conditions and on minimum wage. Then the chickens end up on the supermarket shelves, whether in one bag or two.

I believe that chickens should be reared in very much better conditions and not just processed in a way that encourages cross-contamination.

I do not want a panic but enough public reaction to tell our government and producers that action is needed now.

GO VEGAN ….. and if you can’t BE a vegan …. EAT one.

Malcolm – We face other complex issues related to tackling infection caused by bacteria. There is no doubt that it will take years of research to find solutions, but that does not mean that we should tackle simpler issues now. We are tackling nosocomial infections by improved cleaning practices and relatively simple ways of limiting person-to-person transmission.

There seems to be evidence that intensive rearing, stress of birds and poor practice in processing plants are contributors to the current problem. My view is that these problems should have been tackled years ago.

I hope that there will be a considerable drop in demand for poultry until there is evidence that improvements have been made.

Sorry – for nosocomial read hospital-acquired

I liked the original, wavechange. Made me look it up and add it to my vocabulary.

You have contributed to my vocabulary too, Malcolm.

I was wondering to enrol in a couple of Moocs but reading around the subjects we are discussing helps keep the mind active.

wavechange, I, too, resent the way ex government ministers and civil servants with inside information, influence and access to good contacts are employed by commercial organisations largely to make use of their privileged status. They are not supposed to lobby for a length of time after leaving office. However, we have had campylobacter around for a long time so there is no point in making a scare story out of it – which is exactly what some newspapers will do – particularly when eradicating it is a far-from-simple task apparently, something that it not given real prominence. Meanwhile, educate consumers to deal with it, and monitor take-aways and restaurants to ensure they cook chicken properly, naming and shaming the defaulters.

I also hope that the FSA will ignore Tesco’s alleged plea not to name and shame. I want to know whether there is any difference between the major retailers. If not, naming will either shame all equally, or we will deduce that campylobacter is rife from all suppliers and retailers are equally affected.

Thanks for the report MR. A very interesting read particularly on the existence of disease free flocks.

One point made in the report was that the rate of human sickness had not declined despite warnings to consumers. I might be more impressed if the growth of fast food chains had been factored into the supposition that people cooking at home were still the careless ones. In any event the source of the illness and the breakdown of the age and types of people who end up as clinical cases would be of interest.

WC – As to Civil Servants floating back and forth between industry and selling as opposed to regulation. I have found this highly objectionable since it was first introuced several decades ago by Mrs Thatcher. If she had spent any reasonable time looking at how it operates in the US she would have probably thought its downsides outweigh its possible benefits.

In the US the scope for corruption are immense when a very light regulatory touch can lead to a lucrative appointment within the industry you were ostensibly regulating in the best interests of the population. Very very dirty area which may impinge on Europe through harmonising rules if TTIP is accepted.

I agree with you about what politicians can get up to, but that should be in another discussion.

Food poisoning often gets a mention, but we need something to engage with the public. I believe than if the demand for chicken can be halved, that will give a clear message that action must be taken. I don’t want to see a panic but I do want to see significant public distrust in the product, to encourage effort to tackle the campylobacter problem. I cannot remember much about the ‘panic’ about salmonella in eggs. What it did achieve was help us to appreciate the hazards of eating raw egg.

We have already learned that most of the supermarkets have been sourcing their chicken from two of the major suppliers. We may find that one supermarket is doing better than others but everyone should be able to buy safe meat, wherever they buy it from.

Handling and cooking chicken properly seems to be the immediate solution. Surely we should concentrate on precautions until a remedy is found. People will not stop eating it – it is a staple in many families diet.

I would like to see fast food outlets monitored to see how well they perform. together with processed chicken from Thailand.

A recent American study claimed to show that saturated fats, far from being bad for us, were in fact beneficial – participants were fed 3 times the recommended amount with no ill effects. On the other hand, excessive carbohydrates – e.g. potatos, rice, sugar – were apparently harmful. So once again conflicting dietary advice. Personally I ignore this sort of stuff and eat what I regard as a balanced diet – meat, dairy, veg, fruit – and will continue on this path. This will include chicken, turkey (just the once) but all properly cooked at home from what I hope are reputable suppliers.

We should be seeing the named supermarkets list soon from the FSA unless Tesco have their alleged way.

Eggs and chicken are temporarily unavailable. Please make an alternative selection.

The results are in – which supermarket’s chicken had the highest levels of Campylobacter? Find out: https://conversation.which.co.uk/energy-home/campylobacter-results-per-supermarket-asda/

Given the few major processors and distributors the results are hardly surprising. Have we checked the processors and distributors – including those handling Thailand’s 300 000 plus tons of mechanically recovered “meat” that we import? And what about fast food outlets – do they cook reliably?

Handle and cook your chicken properly until this apparently difficult problem is solved. Unless anyone has a magic solution (in which case I will eat my words as well as my chicken).