Asda exposed as supermarket with 'dirtiest' chicken
Supermarkets are named and shamed as study finds seven in ten chickens contain a potentially deadly bacteria called campylobacter, with Asda closely followed by Co-op, Waitrose and Morrisons
Asda has been exposed as the supermarket with the highest proportion of chickens contaminated with dangerous bacteria that causes food poisoning.
In a damning report, the Food Standards Agency found 70 per cent of chickens sold at supermarkets were infected with campylobacter.
At Asda the proportion rose to 78 per cent of the birds tested. The food watchdog warned that 28 per cent of Asda chickens contained highly-dangerous levels of the bacteria.
However, even poultry sold at more expensive supermarkets such as Waitrose and M&S were infected with campylobacter, which makes 280,000 people ill every year, killing 100.
Steve Wearne, director of policy at the FSA, said: "Wherever you buy chicken from you are at risk from this nasty bug." He said tens of thousands of people were being made ill unnecessarily every year because retailers were doing too little to protect customers. Supermarkets needed to take responsibility for "dozens" of annual deaths caused by the bacteria, which could be prevented, he said.
The Cooperative ranked second worst among the retailers tested in the six-month period between February and July, with 73 per cent of birds testing positive for campylobacter. Tests at Waitrose, Morrisons, and Sainsbury's all showed results of 69 per cent. See the full league table below.
Tesco was the only retailer where contamination levels were lower than the industry average, the report found.
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