“Supermarket bosses should hang their heads in shame” – our response to the latest FSA data on levels of campylobacter in supermarket chickens

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said:

“These results are a damning indictment of supermarkets and consumers will be rightly shocked at the failure of trusted household brands to stem the tide of increasingly high levels of campylobacter.  Supermarket bosses should hang their heads in shame.

“It’s now vital that the industry cleans up its act and works hard to restore consumer confidence. We want to see supermarkets not only publishing effective plans that tackle these scandalously high levels but also demonstrate they’re taking real action to make chicken safe.”

Notes to editors:

1. Please contact the press office on 0207 770 7562 / 7582 for:

– High resolution photographs of our ‘Make Chicken Safe‘ campaign stunt outside supermarkets – an example is attached.

– Case studies talking about their experiences of contracting campylobacter

2. In our latest research we found:

  • Nearly nine in ten (86%) assume that the food they buy from supermarkets is safe;
  • Three-quarters (76%) trust that fresh chicken supermarkets stock is safe to eat;
  • Just a third (33%) have heard of campylobacter, compared to 94% for salmonella and 92% for E.Coli;
  • More than half (55%) says there’s not enough information about the level of campylobacter in chicken

Populus, on behalf of Which?, surveyed 2,101 UK adults online between 21st and 23rd November 2014. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all UK adults. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

3. For more details or to sign up to our campaign, please visit ‘Make Chicken Safe‘

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