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Moy Park invests over £1M to tackle campylobacter
Brazil 2014 World Cup sponsor Moy Park has invested over £1M in research and practices to help the poultry industry tackle the food poisoning bug campylobacter.
Research projects have involved initiatives across 600 farms in Northern Ireland and England looking at inputs such as feed and water as well as biosecurity measures and stock management techniques.
The poultry processor has invested substantially in its farms and processing facilities, including implementing a training programme for more than 200 farmers and catching teams, biosecurity monitoring and enhanced testing programmes.
Moy Park has also introduced a programme of pioneering on-farm testing that gives rapid feedback to farmers on the status of each flock via text message.
Ursula Lavery, Moy Parks Technical Director for Europe and an authority in the poultry industry on campylobacter said: We have been conducting research into campylobacter for a number of years and have been at the forefront of introducing advanced techniques to reduce campylobacter. We work closely with the Food Standards Agency, other government and industry bodies and university research groups across the UK on this. However, as a leader in the industry we understand our responsibilities in both reducing campylobacter and communicating to consumers that there is no need to wash raw chicken. Our research confirms that consumers know chicken is perfectly safe when cooked and prepared properly and that any unfriendly bacterial is killed during the cooking process.
Moy Park was one of the first processors to promote the – No need to wash – message by introducing a front of pack sticker on all of its branded whole chicken. The company has also produced a video and leaflet for consumers on how to prepare and cook chicken. The video can be viewed at www.moypark.com
Meanwhile, the FSA has renewed calls to consumers to refrain from washing raw chicken before cooking it, as this could spread campylobacter bacteria. According to fresh research 44% of people always wash chicken before eating it.
The practice could spread campylobacter bacteria on to hands, work surfaces, clothing and cooking equipment through the splashing of water droplets, the FSA warned.
In addition, of those canvassed in the FSA survey, just 28% knew of campylobacter, versus more than 90% who had heard of Salmonella and E.coli. Only 31% knew that poultry was the main source of campylobacter.
Campylobacter is the most common form of food poisoning in the UK, affecting an estimated 280,000 people a year. About four in five of these cases come from contaminated poultry. The resulting illness can cause abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea and vomiting. In very extreme cases it can also cause death.
