A bulletin for the Australian Food Industry May 1996
Contents: Salmonella from unexpected sources | BSE: an update | HACCP and national food hygiene legislation | Victorian food hygiene project | Campylobacter food infection | Australian meat standards | Food irradiation | Tainting: always a potential problem
Campylobacter food infection
Campylobacter spp are a primary cause of bacterial diarrohea in humans. In Australia, the incidence of camplyobacteriosis is apparently increasing as it is in other industrialised countries. The reported figures may also reflect improved notification of food-borne illnesses.
Campylobacter spp. occur widely as part of the normal intestinal flora of many warm-blooded animals including chickens and turkeys. The organisms do not grow readily in food; nor do they grow below about 30°C. The risk of infection can be avoided by
- consuming only thoroughly cooked meat and poultry,
- drinking only milk that has been pasteurised
- practising good hygiene in the kitchen
Another risk factor is contamination from pets so they should be kept away from food preparation areas.
Epidemiological studies of Campylobacter infection reported in The Lancet 346 1995 p. 386 confirm the unusual role that birds, particularly magpies and crows, contribute to this common cause of food-borne illness in the United Kingdom. The birds peck the foil tops of home delivered bottles of milk and in a high proportion of instances, contaminate the milk.
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