The poultry industry has criticised as scaremongering findings that say most of the fresh chicken meat sold in New Zealand is contaminated with campylobacter.
A new University of Otago, Wellington study, published last week in the international journal BMC Public Health found an overwhelming majority of consumers were not aware of the widespread contamination.
Researchers found people did not know the risks associated with fresh chicken and said retailers should do much more to inform shoppers.
The researchers found deficiencies in safety information provided to consumers on labels. Butchery labels in particular lacked any chicken preparation information.
The Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand is challenging the findings, which it says do not reflect reported campylobacter statistics nor consumer behaviour.
Association executive director Michael Brooks said the findings did not fit with New Zealand's soaring chicken consumption and flat rates of reported campylobacter.
"Reported cases of campylobacter have sat between 6000 to 7000 for the past five years, so it's misleading to estimate there are 30,000 cases occurring,'' Mr Brooks said.
"It is important to note that the source of these cases was not always chicken.''
Mr Brooks said the poultry industry had made significant changes to labelling for food safety. But it lost control of access to information once third parties such as butchers or supermarkets started packaging their own raw chicken product.
"It is important for everyone to educate their customers on food safety practices.''
Mr Brooks said he welcomed a collaborative approach with institutions such as Otago University, as consumer education was key to reducing cases of campylobacter.
"What is not useful is to mislead consumers with over-inflated figures and inaccurate information.'' - NZME
Top tips
Handling and preparing chicken:
• Store raw chicken on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
• Thaw completely and cook within 24 hours of thawing.
• Handling: Do not wash chicken.
• Wash hands and equipment thoroughly with hot soapy water after handling raw chicken.
• Chicken must be fully cooked through until juices run clear.
Source: The Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand
