Professional fowl

Are kitchens abreast of recent revelations about chicken? Is truly safe poultry just an unhatched idea? Amanda Marcus bangs the drumstick to find out.

Poultry is Britain's most popular animal protein by far. We now eat almost twice as much poultry as beef every year, according to the British Poultry Council (BPC), and consumption is still growing. But although it's perceived as healthy and nutritious, the actual meat content of a chicken breast can vary widely, especially on imported products.

Poultry destined for the catering trade is not governed by the same standards as retail produce. More than 20% of poultry consumed in the UK is imported and, outside the UK, growth-promoting antibiotics are routinely used in animal production systems. And although imports have to meet standards set by the EU and enforced by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), current labelling legislation allows chicken to be imported into the EU, processed and packed without a requirement for the country of origin to be stated on the label.

So, unless caterers buy their chicken from a reputable source, they won't be sure where it comes from.

Trading standards officers recently conducted investigations following customer complaints about the quality of chicken in restaurant and take-away meals, and several wholesalers who supply chicken breasts to the catering trade were prosecuted as a result.

The FSA then investigated the meat content in imports supplied to the catering trade as bulk-packed (10kg) frozen, skinless chicken breasts and found that 46% of samples had a meat content 5-26% less than declared on the label, and added-water content ranged up to 43%. Two samples tested positive for pork DNA.

Water content
Adding water to meat is not illegal as long as this is clearly indicated on the label. However, says the BPC, the high levels of water added in so many imported catering packs is "very disturbing". It would like to see the UK catering sector take up the same Assured Chicken Production standards that the supermarkets have embraced, so that all chicken sold in all catering outlets would meet supermarket standards.

"The consumer probably doesn't know that he or she is eating a product with a high water content, but usually the caterer does," says Peter Bradnock, chief executive of the BPC. The simple explanation is that price is the key driver in buying decisions.

Grampian Country Food Group owns poultry-processing operations in both the UK and Thailand, and stresses that it works to the same standards in Thailand as here. In 1999 it was the first producer to voluntarily remove all antibiotic growth promoters from its poultry diets.

Grampian's group corporate marketing manager, Alasdair Cox, says that the pressure on caterers to place price above quality is immense. "Customers are more interested in price and portion size than provenance," he says. "Caterers working to a very tight budget have to buy the cheapest product they can find."

Rob McFarlane, national account controller in chilled meats for Larderfresh, agrees that price is still winning over conscience. He says: "After BSE and foot-and-mouth, we thought that integrity was a food selling point, but imports from Thailand and elsewhere are still big business." Larderfresh is focusing more and more on the integrity of the food chain for both raw and ready-prepared poultry products, dealing only with one UK supplier, and all its suprême range and chicken cuts are guaranteed to be UK-reared.

"Many people still buy on price alone and don't ask any questions about where their meat has come from," continues McFarlane. "The catering trade has almost become slightly immune to the scares, and many still want the cheapest products possible. I'm amazed, after all the knocks the industry has had, that more people aren't looking at where their poultry comes from."

Over the past few years the poultry market has moved away from frozen birds to fresh, and from whole birds to portions. Although demand for organic and free-range poultry is growing, it's still a niche area at only about 2% of the market. The growth area is processed poultry and ready meals. According to McFarlane, portioned packs are growing in direct response to increased demand from caterers. "The deskilling we're seeing in kitchens means they're cutting down on skilled labour," he says. "Portions also have the advantage of portion control, which is good for the caterer's costs and budgeting."

Some poultry suppliers believe that the price of chicken is unlikely to rise in 2002 and may even fall as a result of increased production throughout the world. However, Bradnock warns, oversupply in Europe means that chicken farms are finding it difficult to make a profit, and he believes that major cutbacks will tighten supply, which could affect the price of cheap imports.

Meat and poultry consumption in the UK

(x 1,000 tonnes)

Source: Meat & Livestock Commission and BPC data prepared from MAFF statistics

Safe, not sorry

The Food Standards Agency's food hygiene campaign - Safer food, better business - is intended to encourage good hygiene practice, which will help to reduce incidences of food poisoning. The FSA's Web site gives advice on the main hygiene issues for keeping customers safe.

Visit www.food.gov.uk, or phone 0845 608 6089, for more details.

Here are some of the FSA's tips:

• Use a colour-coding system for utensils and chopping boards to distinguish those used for raw food from those used for ready-to-eat food.
• Check fridges and refrigerated display units regularly to ensure that they are working correctly and are keeping food at the correct temperature. Ensure that staff report any faults as soon as possible, and take prompt action to correct the problems.
• Before selecting equipment or premises, consult your local environmental health officers, who can give helpful advice.
• Managers should not assume that members of staff know how to clean premises and equipment correctly. They should be provided with appropriate instruction.
• Put signs above washbasins and sinks in food areas, to indicate what they should be used for - washing hands, cleaning, washing food - and make sure that staff only use basins and sinks for their intended purpose.

FSA proposals for control of poultry standards

The FSA is now proposing a series of measures to tighten up on poultry standards. These include:

• Introducing a requirement to stain "high-risk" unfit poultry meat - bringing it into line with existing requirements for red meat.
• Extending staining to cover licensed cold stores and cutting plants.
• Committing to improve traceability and quality assurance within supply chains in the catering sector, particularly in hospitals and schools.
• Considering what controls are necessary on food brokers who trade in food but may not know the source of the products they are trading.