Campylobacter, the food poisoning bug that instils fear in the hearts of anyone unfortunate enough to have been infected with it is thankfully on the decrease in our supermarket chicken.
Reported in the English newspaper the Guardian, the Food Standards Agency has carried out a test of campylobacter on chicken in UK supermarkets and reports that the percentage testing positive has decreased from 83% last year to 76% this year.
Campylobacter infects the intestine causing symptoms including inflammation, (bloody) diarrhoea, cramps fever and pain. Trust me as one who knows, it is not a pleasant experience.
There are a number of ways you can reduce the risk of campylobacter exposure in your kitchen including not washing chicken or turkey before cooking, using separate chopping boards for raw meat, cooked meat and vegetables (colour coding such as that used in catering works very well, e.g. red for raw meat, yellow for cooked meat and brown for vegetables).
If you are concerned about raw chicken in your kitchen, you could always buy the “roast in a bag” chicken available from M&S. See No touch chicken for more details.
For the rest of us, stay smart in the kitchen, the FSA website has a good Campylobacter section that offers advice.