Fowl news: Wash raw chicken to kill bugs say 32% of young

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This article is part of our Meat, Fish & Poultry Report 2015.

It’s the UK’s biggest cause of food poisoning - and the top strategic priority for the FSA - yet consumer awareness of campylobacter and how to avoid it remains worryingly low.

Particularly among those aged 16 to 24, according to an exclusive survey for The Grocer, which has revealed that almost one in three (32%) consumers in this age group think “thouroghly washing raw chicken before cooking” is a good way to avoid food poisoning.

This is the exact opposite of what the FSA advises. Overall just 43% of British consumers know not to wash raw chicken, compared to 23% of 16 to 24-year-olds.

“Londoners and the under-35s seem most oblivious to the potential perils lurking in our poultry,” says Lucia Juliano, head of consumer and retail research at Harris Interactive, which polled 2,000 consumers for The Grocer.

“Only 55% of Londoners and 51% of under-25 year old mentioned chicken as the main source of food poisoning - clearly indicating that education among these two groups needs to be ramped up.”

Awareness of the importance of thoroughly cooking chicken until “all pink bits are gone” is much better, with 80% of consumers aware. But just 63% of younger shoppers are aware of the need to cook chicken properly; and just 53% know they should wash all utensils used to handle raw chicken.

“It’s clear more work needs to be done to reinforce good habits in the kitchen,” says Richard Griffiths, director of food policy at the British Poultry Council. “The FSA has made a great start with Food Safety Week, but now we all need to renew our efforts. Good kitchen hygiene remains the simplest and easiest way to beat campylobacter.”

Thinking now about preparing raw chicken at home, what measures would help reduce the risk of food poisoning (including from campylobacter)?

	Total	Male	Female	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55+
Cook all chicken until piping hot / all pink bits are gone	80.3%	71.5%	88.6%	62.9%	70.0%	80.0%	85.7%	88.8%
Thoroughly wash all utensils used to prepare raw chicken	69.6%	59.8%	78.9%	53.4%	60.3%	65.9%	75.0%	79.0%
Cover raw chicken and keep it chilled	59.3%	52.4%	65.9%	48.0%	51.5%	53.9%	67.9%	65.7%
Don’t reuse carrier bags used to transport raw chicken	51.6%	46.4%	56.5%	41.3%	41.2%	43.6%	59.4%	60.7%
Don’t wash raw chicken	43.4%	38.3%	48.2%	22.8%	31.3%	44.0%	50.4%	52.6%
Thoroughly wash all raw chicken before cooking	27.4%	29.0%	25.9%	32.1%	28.6%	28.1%	24.5%	26.2%
Transport all raw chicken in one dedicated, reusable carrier bag	17.6%	16.5%	18.7%	12.0%	15.5%	13.8%	21.7%	20.8%
Store raw chicken on the top shelf of the fridge	13.0%	14.1%	12.0%	18.3%	11.8%	10.7%	10.6%	14.2%
Store all raw chicken at room temperature	5.6%	7.6%	3.7%	9.1%	7.9%	7.0%	4.8%	2.9%
Cut / prepare raw chicken on a wooden chopping board	15.4%	15.7%	15.1%	25.6%	15.9%	12.5%	10.6%	15.5%