With Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer undertaking major inquiries into their chicken sources, Retail Week looks at what retailers need to know about poultry hygiene.

Why are we talking about it?

Britain’s biggest retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, have launched major inquiries into their chicken sources, after undercover footage taken by The Guardian exposed a series of alleged hygiene failings in two of the UK’s largest poultry processors which supply the supermarkets.

The newspaper investigation focused on the 2 Sisters Food Group and Faccenda food processors, which own factories supplying Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and M&S. The investigation claims to expose flouting of strict hygiene standards that prevent contamination in these factories.

What is at the centre of the problem?

The concern centres around the potentially deadly bacteria campylobacter, which is present in two-thirds of British fresh chicken sold in the UK. Although killed by thorough cooking, around 280,000 people in the UK are currently made ill each year by it and it causes 100 deaths annually.

What has been done?

A spokesman for the FSA told Retail Week that it is committed to publishing the results from its survey of campylobacter on shop-bought chickens, including names of retailers and processors, on an annual basis. However, it has resisted pressure to publish results more regularly. The spokesman said: “Quarterly results cannot be interpreted in a meaningful way, so breaking results down by retailer and processor at this stage could mislead consumers.”

In a board meeting this week, the FSA agreed however that its final results will be delivered sooner than previously planned. Its first quarterly results will be released, without company names, in the next few weeks.

What are the implications?

One year on from the horsemeat scandal and these allegations will act as a fresh blow for Britain’s supermarket industry, as it struggles to gain trust back from consumers once again.  Paul Carr, FMCG director at global supply chain management firm Achilles said: “Food safety is one of the most emotive things for ordinary families. Chicken suppliers apparently being caught out will not simply affect the food processors, the entire chicken and meat industry will be tarred with the same brush.”

Carr calls for retailers to work together to help prevent any further scandals in the future. “There is now a real need for retailers and buyers to collaborate on standards within the food industry, ensuring suppliers undertake one regulated, audited process and that common place standards are properly policed,” he says.