Lidl has responded to claims by an animal welfare group that half of the supermarket’s fresh chicken products tested contained E.coli, Listeria and antibiotic “superbugs”.
According to the Open Cages campaign, two strains of multi-resistant bacteria, ESBL and MRA, were found in products tested in five Lidl stores.
Of the 40 fresh products tested, 58% were found to contain MRSA and ESBL superbugs.
E.coli was also detected in 47.5% of products and listeria was found in 30% of those tested.
Lidl quickly argued that this was a “very small, controlled sample tested outside UK guidelines” and there was no risk to public health.
However, experts still consider the findings that antibiotic-resistant bacteria can render treatment ineffective.
Timothy Walsh, Professor of Medical Microbiology and Antibiotic Resistance at the University of Oxford, said: “People can become ill from processing and eating contaminated meat, and the use of human antibiotics in animal production can have a profound long-term effect on efficacy. an antibiotic to treat human infections.”
MRSA can cause serious infections and lead to painful and swollen skin, a high temperature and difficulty breathing.
ESBL most commonly infect the intestines and urinary tract.
Lidl said: “Food safety is a priority for our business and all products undergo extensive quality control throughout the supply chain.
“We work closely with our suppliers and many industry partners and align our policies with the Alliance for the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (Ruma) and the Food Industry Initiative for Antimicrobials (FIIA) to ensure the responsible and Ruma-recommended use of antibiotics while ensuring welfare animal welfare remains a priority.
“Our own testing shows that there have been no micro-related deviations outside of legal levels over the last 12 months, and no regulatory authorities have raised any concerns with us on this topic.
“It is therefore evident and extremely worrying that Open Cages continues to spread false and inaccurate information, with the apparent aim of gaining media attention and both scaring and misleading the public.
“If Open Cages has any genuine and verified concerns regarding the presence of pathogens in fresh British chicken, we encourage them to work with verified sources and share their full findings with either us or the FSA for further investigation.”
All 40 products tested by Open Cages were sold in five stores in Manchester, Birmingham and London and sold under the brand name ‘Birchwood British’ chicken.
Samples included whole roast chickens, thighs, drumsticks and breast meat.
They were then sent to a laboratory in Germany to be tested by the campaign group.
The Open Cages report does not include full test results for each item, including the levels of pathogens allegedly present and whether they fall outside legal limits.
They also don’t give any details about when the products were tested and the chicken’s use-by dates.
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