The School of Veterinary Science at the University of Bristol has published the results from its three year survey of factors including campylobacters in chicken broiler houses.

Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poision in the UK and the bacteria is responsible for more than 280,000 cases of food poisoning in the UK each year.

The bug is invisible to the naked eye, odourless and cannot be taste on food, yet campylobacter can kill and costs the UK economy approximately £900 million, with roughly four in five cases of campylobacter poison in the UK coming from contaminated poultry.

Results from samples taken between 2013 and 2016 have now been published in the journal of applied microbiology, which also includes the findings presented by an earlier EU-wide survey identifying that some slaughterhouses were better at removing campylobacter species from broiler carcasses compared with others.

The research published in Journal of Applied Microbiology outlines how reductions in campylobacter levels could be made through cost effective changes in farming best practice.

For the independent farms, bird gender, age at slaughter, shed size and the shed frame construction material were significant predictors of numbers of campylobacter in litter.

The report showed that houses containing exclusively female birds had lower campylobacter levels compared with sheds containing male gender birds, and mixed gender sheds also tended to have significantly lower counts.

If prebiotics were fed to birds, the mean log10 county was increase by 1.400.

It is also established that freezing chickens and chicken meat can lower numbers of campylobacter.

The presence of darkling beetles in the litter had significantly decreased numbers of campylobacter species in the litter.

The report also showed how increasing the frequency of dipping boots in disinfectant was significantly correlated with lowered numbers of campylobacter species in house litter.

Mike Hutchison, who managed the study at the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Sciences said: “An initial model to predict numbers of campylobacters on broiler carcass neck skins after chilling determined that more than three times the variance observed in slaughterhouses was explained by on-farm factors.

"Therefore, it is likely that farm-based interventions would be more financially and practically effective in lowering flock colonisations by campylobacters”

Clare Taylor, senior lecturer in medical microbiology at Edinburgh Napier University and general secretary of the Society for Applied Microbiology, said: “In recent years we have seen reports that campylobacters are present in around 75 per cent of supermarket chickens.

"And with an increasing focus on the reduction of the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry, it is clear that hygienic practices in poultry processing can play a key role in reducing contamination.

"The authors of this study have identified a number of key interventions that could reduce Campylobacter contamination and improve food safety.”

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For more information on the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Bristol please visit Bristol.ac.uk/vetscience