Hygiene prevents foodborne illnesses
Jan 5, 2018 - hygiene
Hygiene prevents foodborne illnesses
Chicken meat is often contaminated with Campylobacter. These bacteria have now surpassed salmonella as the most common bacterial cause of diarrheal diseases in Germany. This has been confirmed by the results of the official food monitoring 2016, which was recently presented by the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL).
For salmonella, EU-wide action guidelines in poultry stocks were apparently successful: The contamination with salmonella was as low as in the previous year: Just under 5 percent of fresh chicken meat and just under 7 percent of carcasses were contaminated. In addition, the inspectors examined 304 samples of raw milk from vending machines directly from the farm. In 10 percent, health-hazardous germs such as Listeria were detected, and every fifth sample had a high total germ count.
Whether poultry meat or raw milk - consumers can significantly minimize the health risk in their own household. Poultry meat should always be eaten only when well cooked. Pay attention to hygiene when processing. All kitchen utensils that come into contact with raw poultry should be thoroughly cleaned with hot water and detergent or in the dishwasher at at least 60 degrees. Hands must also be washed thoroughly. Raw milk should definitely be boiled before consumption.
In 2016, the official food monitoring controlled over 519,000 businesses and evaluated more than 376,000 food samples. Food monitoring in Germany is risk-oriented. This means that businesses with a higher risk are controlled more frequently. Similar to previous years, the inspectors found violations in one out of every four companies. Most often, the general hygiene of the operation (49%), food labeling and presentation (25%), and deficiencies in hygiene management (22%) were criticized.
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Source: bilacon Newsletter December 2017; BZfE Newsletter, December 6, 2017