The top nine retailers across the UK have published their latest testing results on Campylobacter contamination in UK-produced fresh whole chickens (covering samples tested from January to March 2019). The latest figures show that on average, across the major retailers, 3.5% of chickens tested positive for the highest level of contamination. These are the chickens carrying more than 1,000 colony forming units per gram (cfu/g) of Campylobacter. 

Rebecca Sudworth, Director of Policy at the Food Standards Agency, said:  ‘Campylobacter levels have remained steady and are below our target of 7% at the highest level of contamination. Nevertheless, we will continue to work closely with retailers to bring levels down to as low as reasonably achievable.

As the most common cause of food poisoning in the the UK, the Food Standards Agency has been testing chickens for Campylobacter since February 2014 and publishing the results as part of a campaign to bring together the whole food chain to tackle the problem. Since September 2017, major retailers carry out their own sampling, publishing their results under robust protocols laid down by the FSA. Whilst continuing to sample some fresh whole chickens sold at retail, the agency's focus is now on the smaller retailers and the independent market.

Detailed results from each retailer are available on the FSA website: www.food.gov.uk