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Commission Decision 2007/516/EC requires all Member States (MS) to undertake a survey of Campylobacter and Salmonella on broiler carcasses and Campylobacter in broiler flocks to establish the baseline prevalence in the EU and each MS. This project covers the broiler carcass part of the survey.
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A sampling protocol will be developed to meet the regulation requirements. The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) in GB and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in NI will be trained to undertake the sampling in abattoirs and forward samples to the laboratories for testing. Defra will submit the results to the European Commission according to decision 2007/516/EC. The results will be released by EFSA in 2010 and will not be available from the FSA prior to this.
Results and findings: <BR> In order to establish baseline and comparable values for all Member States, a European Union-wide baseline survey was carried out at slaughterhouse level to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter in broiler batches and of Campylobacter and Salmonella on broiler carcasses. The broiler batches and carcasses were randomly selected from the broiler slaughterhouses within each Member State. This was the sixth baseline survey to be conducted in the European Community and it was the first baseline survey directly investigating foodstuffs. This project covered the UK broiler carcass element of the survey. The following link is to the report by EFSA of the results from all EU countries and 2 non EU countries that took part in the survey. <P>
The Campylobacter and Salmonella baseline figures may be used in the future to follow trends and to evaluate the impact of control and monitoring programmes. The figures also provide useful information for setting reduction and performance objectives and possibly for evaluating some potential intervention methods. However, further research on the epidemiology and surveillance methods of Campylobacter in the broiler meat production is recommended. In the national Salmonella control and surveillance programmes of broiler flocks and broiler meat, Member States may need to address serovars other than Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium.
<P>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.