SALMONELLA CONTAMINATION OF RETAIL CHICKEN PRODUCTS SOLD IN THE UK

The level of Salmonella contamination in retail chicken products was investigated bimonthly in two counties in the UK over 12 consecutive months. In total 325 chicken and 35 giblet samples were tested. Supermarket chicken, fresh chilled and frozen, and chicken from local butcher shops were compared for their rates of Salmonella contamination which were, respectively, 18.6, 25.5, and 24.5%. These differences were not found to be significantly different. The overall level of contamination for the three groups combined was 22.8%. Giblets (supermarket frozen and butcher shop combined) were contaminated at a rate of 37.1%, which was not significantly different from the combined rate for the chicken samples. Amongst all salmonellae isolated, Salmonella enteritidis was present in 51.4% and S. typhimurium in 12.2% of the chicken samples and 23.1% and 0% respectively of the giblet samples.