According to recent Data from Public Health England it shows that since the year 2000 there have been 1,595 people affected in outbreaks of food poisoning caused by the bacteria campylobacter. These were all associated with the consumption of poultry products and of these 1,282 (80%) had reported eating chicken liver dishes. This information is published as part of activities to raise awareness of Food Safety Week, a national campaign managed by the Food Standards Agency.
“We welcome this campaign by the Food Standards Agency as it is raising awareness of a very common illness. There are more gastrointestinal infections caused by campylobacter than any other bacteria. This is not something particular to England but is a pattern seen around the world.” Dr Bob Adak, head of the gastrointestinal diseases department at PHE commented.
Dr Adak explained that Campylobacter is the bacteria most commonly associated with gastrointestinal illness and PHE records show that there are on average 60,000 confirmed cases each year. Most of these infections are sporadic and not associated with outbreaks. Dr Adak added that the Infection is self-limiting and people will usually recover without treatment in a few days. It is important to remain hydrated and some people may find rehydration salts useful.
“Out of a number of possible risk factors the greatest by far is eating or handling poultry meat which is why we are urging people during Food Safety Week to pay attention to how they store and handle chicken and other poultry meat at home. Hand and kitchen hygiene are key here and if you have handled raw meat or used a chopping board you need to wash these thoroughly using soap and hot water.” Dr Adak commented
Dr Adak went on to point out that any meat can be contaminated with campylobacter and poultry is commonly affected as the bacteria get onto the surface of the meat during the slaughtering process. It can also be found inside chicken livers. Similarly not cooking chicken livers thoroughly means that bacteria can survive and this increases the risk of infection.