Two-thirds of chicken on sale in the UK is contaminated with a bacterium which can cause severe food poisoning, research shows.
Campylobacter, which can cause diarrhoea, cramping and abdominal pain, causes 55,000 cases of food poisoning a year in the UK.
However, cooking the meat properly kills the bug.
The Food Standards Agency, which carried out the research, said the poultry industry should take action.
It said levels of campylobacter in chicken were the same as when a similar survey was last carried out in 2001.
However, the latest survey did find that levels of another common cause of food poisoning - salmonella - had fallen, with just 6% of samples showing traces of the bacterium.
Illness caused by campylobacter infection usually clears up after a week.
But there is evidence to suggest that it can trigger a life-threatening bloodstream infection in people with a weakened immune system.
Andrew Wadge, FSA director of food safety, said the poultry industry should take action to try to reduce levels of campylobacter infection.
There is no effective way to prevent campylobacter spreading between flocks. Read more...
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