Just cook it doesn’t cut it.

Especially when 10 per cent of 42 samples of packaging on chicken is contaminated with campylobacter on the outside.

(And another reason to wrap any poultry in extra plastic, especially if placing into a reusable bag.)

The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland and other groups said the study confirmed the results of a previous survey by the group that also showed that approximately 10% of samples were contaminated.

The Chairman of the West of Scotland Food Liaison Group (WOSFLG), Mr Leslie Paton said, “We know that it is fairly common to find Campylobacter in raw chicken but we were quite concerned about the extent to which the external surfaces of the packaging were also contaminated. There are implications for anyone handling such packaging and consumers should take care as there is a possibility of cross contamination to other surfaces and foods.”