The UK broiler industry could soon face EU targets for
reducing
campylobacter levels
in birds, similar to that seen with salmonella.
This was a key message from a food safety seminar hosted by the
British Poultry Council in
London.
Campylobacter accounted for more than four times the number of
food poisoning cases last year in the UK. And as Food Standards
Agency (FSA) chief executive Tim Smith pointed out, half of those
investigated were traced back to poultry.
He said that future EU control plans were on the horizon and
they could be like those aimed at salmonella with specified
reduction targets. "We need to be prepared for that."
This is why the FSA has spent the past few years working with
researchers and the UK poultrymeat sector in tackling campylobacter
with a target of halving it by 2010 in UK retail chicken. Last
year, DEFRA spent £800m on
research.
Part of this was a review of current published data carried out
by Diane Newell, of the Food Borne Zoonoses Consultancy. She
highlighted the lack of quality data.
What few estimates there are suggest prevalence varies from 45%
to 90% of flocks colonised by the time of slaughter depending on
the time of year. However, she added that the results of an EU-wide
survey were due to be published later this year, which will
establish a baseline figure for the UK sector.
One key message from research is that the risk falls 30-fold if
you have a 2 log reduction in the numbers of campylobacter on
chicken carcasses, "therefore, you don't need to eliminate it to
see a significant reduction in risk to consumers."
Looking at how the disease behaves, data shows that birds
typically remain campylobacter free for the first 2-3 weeks of
life. Therefore, Prof Newell suggested that one option could be to
move forward the time of slaughter, as done in Scandinavia. Fewer
birds would be infected by slaughter.
However, Dan Pearson of
Vion UK questioned whether
consumers would accept chickens only being reared to 35 days. He
also highlighted that freezing was part of the Scandinavian
approach and the UK couldn't move to frozen chicken only, as there
was a substantial market for "fresh poultry".
Looking at potential sources, Prof Newell said there was growing
evidence the main source is other broilers, with cattle, sheep and
wildlife to a lesser extent. "Most are circulating in poultry,
therefore moving between flocks."
Sequential studies suggest 20% flock colonisation is from the
previous flock, showing that most infection is from external
sources. People and equipment seem to be the biggest transmission
route.
So how can producer reduce prevalence? Kathryn Callaghan of the
FSA pointed to research showing that "enhanced biosecurity can help
cut flock positives by 50%." And this costs £3 a house.
She then outlined a mini survey of eight farms across three
companies, revealling shortcomings. "Only one of the three
companies used dedicated boots and there were issues with boot
dips." These included the wrong disinfectant concentration and
inappropriate containers.
"Two out of the eight farms had difficulties with keeping pets
away from poultry houses," she said.
Mr Pearson acknowledged that biosecurity can help, but he added
that the UK sector had a high standard when compared with other
farming sectors and poultry industries in other countries and had a
good record on endemic diseases like Gumboro.
He questioned: "Are we talking about a step change for example
employing [biosecurity] practices seen on farms higher up the
breeding pyramid."
Even with good biosecurity, Prof Newell said that it was
becoming more obvious that these measures alone won't lead to
significant reductions. Complimentary measures are needed."
These additional measures include vaccinating birds, using
bacteriophages, competitive exclusion products or post harvest
decontamination in plants. However, more work is needed to assess
their possible effectiveness.