Supermarkets are blocking efforts to tackle a deadly bug found in chicken, a watchdog declared last night. The Food Standards Agency has found that up to 79 per cent of raw birds on sale are contaminated with campylobacter – the country’s most common cause of food poisoning. Levels are dangerously high in 19 per cent of chickens and the agency has demanded this figure should be below 10 per cent by year’s end. Tests last month revealed 73 per cent of chickens in supermarkets contained potentially lethal food poisoning bug campylobacter, which makes 280,000 people ill every year . It says however that Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and the Co-op are failing to help. Only Marks & Spencer is giving updates on its plans and progress in tackling campylobacter. Professor Paul Wiles of the FSA said the industry’s response had been ‘unacceptable’. Chief executive Catherine Brown said supermarkets had ‘pushed back’ against providing information and claimed the stores were unhappy over the FSA’s publication of campylobacter league tables. Experts fear the stand-off will make it more difficult to tackle a bug that hits an estimated 280,000 people every year, killing 100. Campylobacter also costs £900million in terms of NHS treatment and in lost productivity due to victims being too sick to work. To date, only M&S has given the FSA details of its comprehensive plan to tackle campylobacter, which involves changes on farms and in slaughterhouses. To date, only Marks & Spencer has given the FSA details of its comprehensive plan to tackle campylobacter, which involves changes on farms and in slaughterhouses . Miss Brown said this had helped meet the 10 per cent target, adding: ‘This is great news – demonstrating that when businesses attack campylobacter with real focus, they can make a difference.’ Professor Wiles, who was previously chief scientific adviser to the Home Office, condemned the other firms’ refusal to detail what they were doing: ‘In terms of the scientific evidence and how to reduce campylobacter that is not acceptable.’ In the agency’s research, which looked at raw roasting chickens bought in 2014, Asda came out worst on virtually every measure. It had a contamination rate of 78.9 per cent, with 31.1 per cent at the highest level. Morrisons was second with a total contamination rate of 76.2 per cent and 22.9 per cent at high levels. Richard Lloyd, of the consumer group Which?, said: ‘People need reassurance that supermarkets are doing everything they can to make chicken safe.’ Shamed supermarkets are refusing to give the FSA useful details of what they are doing to reduce levels of the potentially lethal bug and what success – if any – they are having . Lib Dem MP Andrew George, who campaigns on supermarket issues, said: ‘I would have thought they would have learnt lessons. 'I would strongly urge supermarkets to reflect on what happened to each of their reputations as a result of the horsemeat scandal. ‘It’s not directly related but it’s one that they should remember because you undermine consumer confidence.’ Tory MP Andrew Percy said: ‘The FSA are quite clear on campylobacter and this needs to be tackled. The supermarkets don’t have any excuse for not complying.’ But Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium said: ‘We are surprised to hear this. 'As Catherine Brown would know, her officials are meeting experts from the major retailers regularly through the Acting on Campylobacter Together campaign. 'This is when we share details of progress in the various pilots we are sponsoring.’ The Co-op said it met the FSA last month to spell out its action plan. The other stores insisted they were co-operating.
Tests found 73 per cent of supermarket chickens contained campylobacter . Poisoning bug makes 280,000 people ill every year and can cause death . Almost one in five birds was highly dangerous, FSA figures revealed . FSA told stores it expected them to reduce number of contaminated birds . But official watchdog revealed today most stores failing to fully co-operate .