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Food Safety - Campylobacter in Raw Chickens 

The Food Standards Agency have published the results of a year-long survey of the campylobacter bacteria on fresh chickens. Campylobacter is a food poisoning bacteria found on raw poultry and is the biggest cause of food poisoning in the UK. A link to the survey results can be found here. 
 
Here are some tips on avoiding food poisoning from the campylobacter bacteria: 
 
Storage 
Store your raw chicken in the fridge. Your fridge temperature should be below 5°C 
Cover your chicken and store on the bottom shelf of the fridge so juices cannot drip onto and contaminate other foods stored in the fridge. 
 
Preparation 
Don’t wash raw chicken. Cooking the chicken thoroughly will kill any bacteria present including campylobacter. The hazard with washing chicken is that water splashing from the chicken can contaminate the area around the sink and taps with food poisoning bacteria. 
Wash your hands with warm water and soap after handling raw chicken. 
Clean all equipment, utensils and chopping boards thoroughly after preparing raw chicken. 
Clean work surfaces in the area where the raw chicken has been prepared and handed 
 
Cooking 
Cook chicken thoroughly. Cut into the thickest part of the meat and check the juices run clear with no pink meat and the chicken is steaming hot. If you have a clean probe thermometer ensure the core temperature of the chicken reaches 75°C. 
 
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