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Food poisoning risk from chicken livers
New figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reveal that 90% of campylobacter outbreaks at catering venues in the UK were linked to undercooked chicken liver pâté.
Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK.
HPA investigations into these outbreaks revealed that livers used to make the paté were not thoroughly cooked, allowing the liver to remain pink in the centre.
Now the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a reminder to chefs and other caterers to ensure that campylobacter is killed through proper cooking.
They should also follow good food hygiene practices when handling and cooking poultry livers, to avoid contaminating other foods with campylobacter, the FSA said.
Bob Martin, head of food borne disease strategy at the Food Standards Agency, said: “Unfortunately, levels of campylobacter in raw chicken are high, so it’s really important that chefs thoroughly cook chicken livers fully to kill any bacteria, until there is no pinkness left in the centre, even if recipes call for them to be seared and left pink in the middle. It’s the only way of ensuring the paté will be safe to serve to their customers.”
The agency is also working closely with the UK poultry industry and retailers to develop targeted actions along the food chain to reduce levels of campylobacter in UK-produced poultry.
The bacteria can be present throughout the liver, not just on the surface as is the case for poultry meat, and may remain a source of infection if they are not cooked sufficiently.
It is estimated that there were more than 370,000 cases of campylobacter infection 2009 in England. Symptoms include diarrhoea, stomach pains and cramps, fever, and generally feeling unwell, though vomiting is uncommon. Illness suffered by most cases start to clear up after two to three days of diarrhoea and 80–90% recover within one week. Source: ThePoultrySite
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