§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the proportion of(a) turkeys and (b) chickens sold this Christmas that will have been contaminated by salmonella.
§ Mr. MacleanThe results of a survey carried out by the Public Health Laboratory in 1987 were that salmonella was isolated from 65 out of 101 samples (64.4 per cent.) of frozen whole chickens. No later figures are available.
The advice given to local authorities on the identification and rejection of carcases showing signs of salmonella enteritidis infection and the 19 measures which I announced to combat salmonella earlier this year should reduce the incidence of infection in poultrymeat. Thorough cooking and proper handling of poultrymeat should remove any risk.