Strategy for the control of campylobacter in chickens

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a target to reduce the incidence of foodborne disease by 20% by April 2006. Campylobacter is the greatest challenge as far as this target is concerned. Although it is accepted that there may be a number of routes by which humans are exposed to this organism there is strong evidence that the most significant foodstuff is chicken.

Measures could be taken at any stage in the food chain to reduce the risk from chicken and Agency initiatives to improve hygiene in the commercial and domestic kitchen and to promote HACCP will be expected to reduce the number of cases of illness. However, it is clear that action is also required at earlier stages of the food chain to reduce the burden entering the kitchen and reduce the risks for the consumer.

The Agency has therefore developed a strategy to significantly reduce campylobacter in UK produced chicken on retail sale, considering potential control measures that could be implemented on the farm or in the processing plant.

The strategy mainly covers intensively produced, housed chickens, although control in other production systems (organic and free range) is also addressed. All the major stakeholders in the chicken production chain have been involved at various stages in the development of the strategy.

Your comments

Please feel free to contact us, using the contact details given above, if you have any queries regarding the consultation paper.

In addition to general comments on the strategy the Agency would appreciate any information on:

• The costs associated with implementing general biosecurity measures and measures aimed specifically at controlling campylobacter.
• Monitoring data, and potential costs of acquiring such data, that may help determine the prevalence of campylobacter in UK broiler flocks.
• The results of any intervention studies evaluating measures for controlling campylobacter in retail chicken.

The Agency has limited information in these areas, and although data is being collected through current research, additional information will be valuable in helping the work to progress.

Further information

A list of interested parties to whom this consultation is being notified is available by request.

Please feel free to bring this consultation to the attention og any parties with an interest in the subject matter, or send us their full contact details and we will arrange for a copy to be sent to them direct.

A summary of the responses received will be published in due course.

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the Cabinet Office's Code of Practice on Written Consultation, available at www.cabinet-office.gov.uk.

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation, which states that a consultation must follow better regulation best practice, including carrying out an Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment in Scotland). The assessment is included in the consultation documents.

We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the consultation feedback questionnaire.

Consultation feedback questionnaire (Word)

Consultation feedback questionnaire (pdf)

In accordance with the FSA principle of openness our Information Centre at Aviation House will hold a copy of the completed consultation. Responses will be open to public access upon request. The FSA will also publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name and contact address details. If you do not want this information to be released, please complete and return the Publication of Personal Data Form. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential, just your personal data.

Data protection form (Word)

Data protection form (pdf)

Within three months of a consultation ending we aim to publish a summary of responses received and provide a link to it from this page.

If, after three months, the summary is still not showing, please contact the person who was responsible for the original consultation. Alternatively, you can contact the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator by email: consultationcoordinator@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk