with Campylobacter and causes
an estimated 30,000 New
Zealanders to get sick each year.
This food source is also spreading
antibiotic resistant bacteria. It is
New Zealand’s number one food
safety problem.” Because of the
health and economic costs, the
study authors expect food safety
regulators and chicken producers
and retailers to be taking all
reasonable steps to protect
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consumers. “And yet there is
no requirement to include safety
information on fresh poultry
packaged in supermarkets or
butchers,” Baker says. “Where
labels are present, the font is
often tiny and barely readable.
No labels even mentioned the
word ‘Campylobacter’.” The
researchers emphasise that the
most effective way to reduce
campylobacteriosis rates is for
the regulator (the Ministry of
Primary Industries) to mandate
lower contamination levels of
fresh poultry. This measure
has been highly effective in
the past, halving the rate of
campylobacteriosis in New
Zealand when implemented in
2007. “While improved labelling
is important, it is no substitute for
cleaning up our poultry,” Baker
says.
preparation information. “New
Zealand has one of the highest
rates of campylobacteriosis in the
world and at least half of cases
can be attributed to contaminated
chicken,” study author Philip
Allan says. “Our study showed…
that retailers should do much
more to inform shoppers.” The
study evaluated consumers’
knowledge of Campylobacter
and safe chicken preparation,
and found while most survey
participants are aware of the
need to thoroughly cook chicken
and to use separate utensils
during preparation, many are
ignorant of the fact that rinsing
fresh chicken under the tap
could spread the infection, or
that freezing chicken reduced
Campylobacter contamination.
The study was based on
interviews with 401 shoppers
over the age of 16 years recruited
outside 12 supermarkets and
six butcheries in the Wellington
region. Consumers reported a
desire for food safety information
on chicken labels, with 70%
saying it is ‘essential’ to have
information regarding safe
handling and cooking on the
poultry label. “This study has
identified some clear gaps in
campylobacteriosis prevention in
New Zealand,” says Professor
Michael Baker, infectious
diseases researcher and another
of the study’s authors. “Fresh
chicken is heavily contaminated
Plant & Food Research, with
trademark owner T&G Global
first planting it in New Zealand
a decade ago and later in
the USA. The company now
expects to harvest more than
two million cartons in the
USA by 2020 alone. “We’re
particularly proud of how well
Envy is doing in the US, and
in other key overseas markets
such as Thailand, China and
Vietnam,” T&G executive
general manager Darren Drury
says. “We’re continuing to
increase global production
of this beautifully sweet and
crunchy premium apple to
keep up with the growing
demand.”
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