The Food Standards Agency has published the results of a survey it commissioned to assess the level of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria in fresh pork mince and fresh and frozen chicken on sale in shops in the UK.
This survey followed on from an authoritative report by a group established by the Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) to advise the FSA on research questions and potential approaches to AMR in the food chain.
The survey involved the testing of Campylobacter in 339 chicken samples and Salmonella in 342 pork mince samples for the occurrence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. The survey also looked for AMR in other bacteria in both types of meat including Enterococci, Klebsiella and Escherichia coli.
Key findings include:
- Salmonella spp. were only detected in 5/342 (1.5%) of pork mince samples, of which four were identified as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and one as Salmonella enterica serovar Derby.
- Campylobacter spp. were detected in 85/339 (25%) of all chicken samples (fresh and frozen).
- Freezing has substantial effect on the number of Campylobacter cells. In this study all 34 frozen samples out of the 85 total were found to be negative for Campylobacter.
- E. coli were detected more frequently in chicken samples (165/339; 49%) than in pork mince (35/342; 10%).
- Enterococci were isolated more frequently from chicken samples (180/339; 53%) than from pork mince samples (103/342; 30%).
- Klebsiella species were detected more frequently in pork mince (127/342; 37%) than chicken (22/339; 6.5%).