Veterinary Service: twice as many reports of unsafe poultry meat this year

Between January and mid-June this year, the State Food and Veterinary Service received 42 reports of unsafe poultry meat, compared with 18 last year.

Indra Urbonavičiūtė, a specialist in the Service’s Animal Products Division, stated that 14 reports were received from companies, whilst 28 cases were identified during state inspections following the sampling of products.

„The causes are cross-contamination and failure to comply with biosecurity measures,“– the agency’s representative told LRT Radio on Wednesday. According to her, the rise in reports of unsafe poultry meat is also influenced by the market situation and consumer demand.

“When assessing the data, it is important to consider more than just the number of non-compliances. This is because the volumes of poultry meat sold on the Lithuanian market and supply flows are not constant; they depend on the market situation, consumer demand, prices and decisions by retail chains, as well as seasonality,” – said I. Urbonavičiūtė.

According to her, when cases of unsafe poultry meat are identified, they are investigated and the entire supply chain – involving both the supplier and the producer – is examined. 

The agency’s representative stated that once poultry has been heat-treated, the risk of contracting salmonellosis disappears, but it can still be transmitted, for example, by touching contaminated chicken with one’s hands.

“People may handle fresh poultry with the same hands they used to prepare it, then pick up another product without washing their hands, and thus become infected with salmonellosis,” – she said.