Figures published on Thursday by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) reveal that food poisoning bacteria campylobacter was present in 70 percent of supermarket chickens tested over the first half of 2014.

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The figures are the cumulative results of tests carried as part of a one-year programme. Worryingly, the prevalence of the bacteria seems to be on the rise, as figures published by FSA in early 2013 showed two thirds of shop-bought chicken was contaminated.

The figures show that almost one in five birds tested positive for campylobacter above the highest level of contamination (1,000 colony-forming units per gram) and every supermarket failed to meet targets to reduce contamination with campylobacter, which is estimated to infect half a million people each year, resulting in 100 deaths.

On Thursday, the Agency said tackling campylobacter is its number one food safety priority. FSA said it is spearheading efforts to bring together the whole food chain to combat the campylobacter problem and in June this year the food safety watchdog launched a campaign against washing raw chicken, as this can spread campylobacter.  

Even so, Richard Lloyd, executive director of consumer group Which? said, "Supermarket bosses should hang their heads in shame."

Llyod continued, "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."

Supermarkets in turn have announced measures to tackle the bug, including roast-in-the-bag chickens to minimise handling at home. Asda – which had the highest instance of campylobacter and contaminated packaging – said it is committed to trialling new steam technology.

Chickens bought from smaller independent stores and butchers also showed a high level of contamination.

FSA testing

In total, FSA tested 1,995 samples of fresh whole chilled chickens over the first half of the year. Between February 2014 and February 2015 the Agency will test 4,000 samples. So far, FSA said, "none [of the major retailers] are meeting the end-of-production target for reducing campylobacter."

The figures also show an increase in contamination from the first quarter to the second quarter, though FSA said this is most likely due to the second quarter's samples being taken during the summer months, when warm weather would have sparked an increase in campylobacter.

Steve Wearne, FSA's Director of Policy, commented, "These results show that the food industry, especially retailers, needs to do more to reduce the amount of campylobacter on fresh chickens. Although we are only half-way through the survey, 18% of birds tested had campylobacter over… 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.

"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."

Campylobacter is killed by thorough cooking, but remains the most common cause of food poisoning in the country. Poultry is the source of most infections.  

Concerningly, Which? director Richard Lloyd said only a third of people surveyed by the group had heard of campylobacter, compared to over 90 percent for salmonella and E.Coli

FSA data show that, on average:

• 18% of chickens tested positive for campylobacter above the highest level of contamination*
• 70% of chickens tested positive for the presence of campylobacter
• 6% of packaging tested positive for the presence of campylobacter with only one sample at the highest level of contamination (>1,000 cfu/g)

Figures by retailer: