Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has launched a BBQ food safety campaign: ‘Nothing spoils summer like Pink Chicken’.
It is in response to evidence, which shows that increases in barbecuing, and chicken purchase and consumption between June and August coincides with peaks in campylobacter infection, the most common form of food poisoning in Scotland.
The campaign will see a pink chicken go around Scotland encouraging people to check that their chicken is properly cooked.
FSS’s head of foodborne disease, Dr Jacqui McElhiney, commented: “Nothing spoils summer like food poisoning and our latest campaign highlights some simple steps everyone can take to reduce the risk of becoming ill through eating chicken that hasn’t been prepared or cooked properly.
“Always make sure there’s no pink meat, the juices run clear, and it’s cooked to 75°C,” she said.
The food body has revealed that there are more than 6,000 reported campylobacter cases in Scotland each year, with some estimates putting the actual figure at nine times as many due to under-reporting of the illness. Research has shown that 60% to 80% of campylobacter infections in Scotland can be attributed to a chicken source.
FSS chief executive, Geoff Ogle, added: “Evidence tells us that barbecues and increased purchase of chicken during the summer months coincide with a spike in reported food poisoning cases at this time of year.
“More than three-quarters of people in Scotland don’t worry about food poisoning. We want people to enjoy themselves, so when you’re getting together and having barbecues, it’s important to make sure that you’re not ruining summer for yourself and others by coming down with food poisoning which is easily preventable,” he continues. “That’s why we’ve created the Pink Chicken campaign; to ensure we minimise the risks of a spoilt summer.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
