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This research project is a review to establish the incidence and causes of pericarditis in UK poultry.
<p>The review will be conducted using a combination of published literature and information from experts.
The Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 states that 'Birds shall be declared unfit for human consumption where the post-mortem health inspection reveals any of the following diseases or conditions:...'. Included in the list is pericarditis.
<p>In the UK, the presence of pericarditis in a poultry carcass generally results in whole carcass rejection at post-mortem. This is primarily because, historically, the condition has been associated with salmonella infection.
<p>Therefore this review was commissioned to enable possible risk questions to be proposed and establish whether current poultry inspection practices should be revised.
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The final report, "<a href="http://www.foodbase.org.uk/results.php?f_report_id=65" target="_new">A Mini Review of the Causes and Incidence of Pericarditis in Poultry</a>" is available at Foodbase, an open access repository of the <acronym title="Food Standards Agency">FSA</acronym>.
<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>.