18/05/2015

Up To One Third Of People At Risk From Campylobacter Food Poisoning

Up to one third of people could contract food poisoning from campylobacter, a bug most commonly found on raw chicken, during their lifetime, according to a new report.

New figures from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) suggest over a quarter of a million people in the UK – an estimated 280,000 – currently fall ill with campylobacter food poisoning per year.

Campylobacter is most frequently found on raw poultry and is the biggest cause of food poisoning in the UK. The FSA has released the figure to mark the start of 2015's Food Safety Week and the launch of the 'Chicken Challenge'.

Nina Purcell, Director at the FSA, said: "More than a quarter of a million people – 280,000 – fall ill each year due to campylobacter food poisoning, and the FSA has been working hard to get industry to reduce that number by cutting the level of contamination on shop-bought chickens.

"This Food Safety Week, we're taking that one step further by asking the public to take the 'Chicken Challenge' and pledge to take action to help protect themselves.

"At the moment, up to a third of us could fall ill with campylobacter at some point in our lives. We all have a responsibility to do what we can to reduce that figure."

(CD/JP)

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