January 3, 2006
FoodProductionDaily.com
Ahmed ElAmin
A general increase in reported cases of Campylobacteriosis over the last few years in the EU’s fifteen original member states indicates that food companies need to step up their safety procedures against the disease.
The statistics are in the European Commission’s first report on the persistence in the EU of a range of zoonoses, foodborne diseases that are transmissible from animals to humans.
The report takes the pulse on the state of food safety in the EU, even as the bloc begins implementing tougher hygiene laws aimed at reducing outbreaks of diseases caused by contaminated products.Continue Reading Foodborne Campylobacter infections increase

By Ahmed ElAmin
12/08/2005 – With up to 76 per cent of UK chickens testing positive for Campylobacter, processors and their suppliers will soon be facing a food safety crackdown from the country’s regulator.
The process will mean greater costs for UK food processors as they implement new measures and increased screening and cleaning techniques to reach the target. The problem is prevalent throughout the EU.
In a consultation document published yesterday the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) proposed reducing that level by 50 per cent in 2010, noting that it would be targeting the start of the supply chain first then moving through food processing and on to the retail level.Continue Reading UK regulator sets target for Campylobacter crackdown

20/07/2005 – UK-based food processors who use poultry in their products are likely to face more safety regulations after a government report singles out chicken meat as the largest contributor to Campylobacter infections in the country.
“Given the prevalence of Campylobacter in poultry, and knowing how easily pathogens can persist and spread in the domestic and catering environments, we believe that reducing the level of the organism in poultry meat is likely to make a significant contribution to the battle against human foodborne illness,” the advisory committee stated in a report to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).Continue Reading UK regulator targets Campylobacter in poultry

Hazards of Healthy Living: Bottled Water and Salad Vegetables as Risk Factors for Campylobacter Infection
Meirion R. Evans, C. Donald Ribeiro, and Roland L. Salmon
University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Cardiff Public Health Laboratory, Cardiff, United Kingdom; and Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (Wales), Cardiff, United Kingdom
Campylobacter is the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, yet the etiology of this infection remains only partly explained. In a retrospective cohort study, we compared 213 sporadic campylobacter case-patients with 1,144 patients with negative fecal samples. Information was obtained on food history, animal contact, foreign travel, leisure activities, medical conditions, and medication use. Eating chicken, eating food from a fried chicken outlet, eating salad vegetables, drinking bottled water, and direct contact with cows or calves were all independently associated with infection. The population-attributable fractions for these risk factors explained nearly 70% of sporadic campylobacter infections. Eating chicken is a well-established risk factor, but consuming salad and bottled water are not. The association with salad may be explained by cross-contamination of food within the home, but the possibility that natural mineral water is a risk factor for campylobacter infection could have wide public health implications.Continue Reading Research: Campylobacter