UK public urged to stop washing raw chicken

As part of the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) anti-Campylobacter campaign they are urging the general public to to stop washing chicken before cooking it – a practice that can spread Campylobacter bacteria onto hands, work surfaces, clothing and cooking equipment through the splashing of water droplets.

Campylobacter, is mostly found in chicken meat, is the most common cause of food poisoning at national level, says the FSA at the launch of “Food Safety Week”.

An FSA-commissioned survey found that in the UK levels of awareness of Campylobacter are well below that of other forms of food poisoning. More than 90% of the public have heard of Salmonella and E. coli, whereas only 28% of people know about Campylobacter.

In the European Union overall, despite the first slight drop in five years in cases of campylobacteriosis (the human form of the disease) in 2012, campylobacteriosis remains the most commonly reported zoonotic disease, accounting for 214,000 cases of infections. Typical symptoms include diarrhoea, fever and headache.