The bacterium Campylobacter is here leading cause of gastroenteritis human of bacterial origin in Europe and can sometimes lead to severe complications. It can be transmitted to humans by direct contact with animals, especially poultry, or indirectly via food. It may therefore be relevant to control its proliferation from farms. Animals are naturally carriers of the bacteria without being sick. A first expertise published by the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) in 2011 concluded that a reduction in the quantity of bacteria in live animals would allow a significant reduction in cases in humans. Since then, new data have been produced, which make it possible to refine these results. ” At the request of the European Commission, a group of EFSA experts reassessed the risk of transmission of Campylobacter by integrating these new data “, explains Marianne Chemaly, Head of the Hygiene and Quality of Poultry and Pork Products Unit, at ANSES’s Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort laboratory, who led the group of experts. ” For the moment, these control strategies in farms, such as vaccination or the addition of additives in feed, are still in the trial phase, no solution is applied in the field. “, she specifies.
The impact of measures on farms reassessed
The results of this work have just been the subject of a research publication in the journal Microbial Risk Analysis following being published in a avis of Efsa in 2020. They conclude that a division by 1000 of the number of bacteria per gram of faecal matter in the intestines of poultry would reduce the risk of contamination of humans from 54 %. “New data has shown that risk reduction is less than previously estimated. In the 2011 opinion, it was assessed that such a reduction in bacteria in the intestine of poultry made it possible to reduce the risk of contamination of humans by at least 90%. Nevertheless, control at farm level remains an important step : the less bacteria an animal carries, the less risk there will be of contamination of the meat and therefore of the consumers”, estimates the scientist.
All players in the fight once morest Campylobacter
These results are an opportunity to recall that all stages of meat production are all levers to limit contamination by Campylobacter : from the slaughterhouse with the cooling of carcasses, through distribution with packaging, to consumers. ” When cutting raw chicken meat at home, there is a risk of bacteria settling on utensils and the cutting board. It is therefore important to clean well these accessories with soap and water before reusing them, in particular to avoid cross-contamination when preparing foods that will be eaten raw, such as vegetables. Likewise, do not reuse a plate in which raw meat has been placed without cleaning it first and of course do not forget to wash your hands! concludes Marianne Chemaly.
