The European Food Safety Authority has concluded that the handling, preparation and consumption of broiler meat may directly account for 20 to 30 per cent of human cases of campylobacteriosis in the European Union.

In Europe, campylobacteriosis is the most common infectious disease transmissible from animals to humans through food and the opinion confirms previous findings that poultry meat appears to be a major, if not the largest,  source of human infection. TheBIOHAZ Panel estimates that the number of actual cases of human campylobacteriosis is likely to be much higher than officially reported.

“We need to interpret our conclusions with care since data on sources of Campylobacter are scarce for the majority of Member States and in some cases they are unavailable.”