About Campylobacter
Campylobacter is considered to be responsible for more than 280,000 cases of food poisoning each year. There are more than 72,000 laboratory confirmed cases of campylobacter poisoning (also known as campylobacteriosis) and a high proportion of these will be due to food.
We are continuing to analyse the full impact that campylobacter has, but previous estimates have indicated that campylobacter causes more than 100 deaths a year, and costs the UK economy about £900 million. About four in five cases of campylobacter poisoning in the UK come from contaminated poultry. Campylobacter is also found in red meat, unpasteurised milk and untreated water. Although it does not normally grow in food, it spreads easily and has a low infective dose so only a few bacteria in a piece of undercooked chicken, or bacteria transferred from raw chicken onto other ready-to-eat foods, can cause illness.
We carried out a survey of campylobacter in chicken on retail sale in the UK between May 2007 and September 2008, and it reported that campylobacter was present in 65% of the fresh chicken samples tested. A European Union baseline survey carried out in 2008, and published by European Food Safety Authority in March 2010, showed the UK estimated prevalence for campylobacter in broiler batches (caecal contents) was 75.3% and 86.3% in broiler carcasses (skin samples). These results were above the weighted EU mean prevalences of 71.2% and 77% respectively. There was a wide range of campylobacter prevalence across members states varying from 4.9% to 100% in broiler carcasses and from 2% to 100% in broiler batches.
The reports of both the UK and EU surveys can be found at the links below.
The findings from these surveys show that there are campylobacter-related challenges in our food-safety system. One of the main priorities for the FSA is to reduce foodborne diseases in the UK. This is reflected in the FSA’s Science and Evidence Strategy 2010-15 and the FSA's Strategy 2015, which state that foodborne disease will be reduced using a targeted approach, and that tackling campylobacter in chicken is a priority.