"Campylobacter" bacteria are the second most
frequently reported cause of foodborne illness. A comprehensive
farm-to-table approach to food safety is necessary in order
to reduce campylobacteriosis. Farmers, industry, food inspectors,
retailers, food service workers, and consumers are each critical
links in the food safety chain. This document answers common
questions about the bacteria "Campylobacter,"
describes how the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is addressing the
problems of "Campylobacter" contamination
on meat and poultry products, and offers guidelines for safe
food handling to prevent bacteria, such as "Campylobacter,"
from causing illness.
Q. What is Campylobacter?
A. Campylobacter [pronounced "kamp-e-lo-back-ter"] is a gram negative, microaerophilic
bacterium and is one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrheal illness in the United States.
Campylobacter jejuni, the strain associated with most reported human infections, may be present in the
body without causing noticeable illness. Campylobacter organisms can be found everywhere and are
commonly found in the intestinal tracts of cats, dogs, poultry, cattle, swine, rodents, monkeys, wild birds,
and some humans. The bacteria pass through the body in the feces and cycle through the environment. They are
also found in untreated water.
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Q. What harm can Campylobacter bacteria cause?
A. Infection caused by Campylobacter bacteria is called campylobacteriosis and is
usually caused by consuming unpasteurized milk, raw or undercooked meat or poultry, or other contaminated
foods and water, and contact with feces from infected animals. While the bacteria can exist in the intestinal
tracts of people and animals without causing any symptoms or illness, studies show that consuming as little
as 500 Campylobacter cells can cause the illness.
Symptoms of Campylobacter infection, which usually occur within 2 to 10 days after the bacteria are
ingested, include fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea (often bloody). In some cases, physicians prescribe
antibiotics when diarrhea is severe. The illness can last about a week.
Complications can include meningitis, urinary tract infections, and possibly reactive arthritis (rare and
almost always short-term), and rarely, Guillain-Barre syndrome, an unusual type of paralysis. While most
people who contract campylobacteriosis recover completely within 2 to 5 days, some Campylobacter infections
can be fatal, resulting in an estimated 124 deaths each year.
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Q. Are more people becoming ill from campylobacteriosis?
A. The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance
Network (FoodNet)
found a substantial decline in the incidents of infections caused
by Campylobacter between 1996 and 2004. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), campylobacteriosis
causes an incidence of about 20 cases per 100,000 population
diagnosed in the United States annually. From laboratory-confirmed
bacterial infection cases reported from 10 sites in 2004, Campylobacter
was identified as the second most common bacterial infection
reported (42% Salmonella, 37% Campylobacter,
15% Shigella, 2.6% E. coli O157:H7, and 3.4%
others such as Yersinia, Listeria, and Vibrio).
FoodNet is a collaborative project among CDC, the 10 Emerging Infections Program sites (EPIs), USDA, and the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One of the objectives of FoodNet is to measure effectiveness of a
variety of preventive measures in reducing the incidence of foodborne illness attributable to the consumption
of meat, poultry, and other foods.
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Q. Who is most susceptible?
A. Anyone may become ill from Campylobacter. However, infants and young children,
pregnant women and their unborn babies, and older adults, are at a higher risk for foodborne illness,
as are people with weakened immune systems (such as those with HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease,
and transplant patients).
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Q. How can Campylobacter be controlled?
A. Campylobacter can be stopped at a number of different points in the food production
and marketing chain.
On the farm:
- Good sanitary practices on farms, as recommended by USDA, minimize the opportunity for the bacteria to spread among animals and birds.
- Pasteurization of milk and treatment of municipal water supplies eliminate another route of transmission for Campylobacter and other bacteria.
In the plant:
- Raw foods are not sterile, and there are no requirements that they be sterile. Food processing companies are accountable for following good, up-to-date manufacturing practices that minimize the opportunity for the spread of Campylobacter and other bacteria.
At retail:
- A food recall is a voluntary action by a manufacturer or distributor to protect the public from products that may cause health problems or possible death. FSIS conducts a sufficient number of effectiveness checks to verify the recalling firm has contacted the distributor or retailer.
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Q. What is FSIS doing to prevent Campylobacter infections?
A. In its commitment to ensure that the public has a safe, wholesome food supply, FSIS is
constantly working to improve the level of safety and reduce contaminants in the meat and poultry supply.
In 1998, FSIS began enforcing a combination of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)
based process control, microbial testing, pathogen reduction performance standards, and sanitation standard
operating procedures which significantly reduce contamination of meat and poultry with harmful bacteria and
reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Establishments can choose to include Campylobacter in their HACCP analysis.
HACCP clarifies the responsibilities of industry and FSIS in the production of safe meat and poultry products.
The role of FSIS is to set appropriate food safety standards and maintain vigorous inspection oversight to
ensure that those standards are met.
USDA is supporting research to learn more about Campylobacter in food and how to control it.
Finally, FSIS conducts extensive safe food handling education programs to help prevent and reduce the risks of
foodborne illness.
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Q. What is the best way to prevent Campylobacter infections?
A. Meat and poultry can contain Campylobacter. However, the bacteria can be found in
almost all raw poultry because it lives in the intestinal track of healthy birds. Improving safe food handling
practices in kitchens will reduce the number of Campylobacter illnesses. Campylobacter bacteria
are extremely fragile and are easily destroyed by cooking to a safe minimum internal temperature. They are also
destroyed through typical water treatment systems. Freezing cannot be relied on to destroy the bacteria. Home
freezers are generally not cold enough to destroy bacteria.
To destroy Campylobacter and minimize the risk of foodborne illnesses:
CLEAN: Wash Hands and Surfaces Often
- Wash your hands with warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and handling pets.
- Wash utensils, cutting boards, dishes, and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next item.
- Consider using paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels, wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
SEPARATE: Don't Cross-contaminate
- Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery shopping cart and in your refrigerator.
- If possible, use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
- Always wash cutting boards, dishes, countertops, and utensils with hot soapy water after they come in contact with raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
- Never place cooked food on a plate which previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
COOK: Cook to Safe Temperatures
Use a clean food thermometer when measuring the internal temperature of meat, poultry, casseroles, and other
foods to make sure they have reached a safe minimum internal temperature:
- Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops to 145 °F.
- All cuts of pork to 160 °F.
- Ground beef, veal and lamb to 160 °F.
- Egg dishes, casseroles to 160 °F.
- All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.
- Stuffing whole poultry is not recommended. Cook stuffing separately to 165 °F.
- Leftovers to 165 °F.
- Do not eat or drink foods containing raw, unpasteurized milk.
- Fish should reach 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
- Bring sauces, soups, and gravy to a boil when reheating.
- Reheat other leftovers thoroughly to at least 165 °F.
CHILL: Refrigerate Promptly
- Keep food safe at home, refrigerate promptly and properly. Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour if the temperature is above 90 °F).
- Freezers should register 0 °F or below and refrigerators 40 °F or below.
- Thaw food in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. Foods should not be thawed at room
temperature. Foods thawed in the microwave or in cold water must be cooked to a safe minimum internal
temperature before refrigerating.
- Marinate foods in the refrigerator.
- Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator.
- Don't pack the refrigerator. Cool air must circulate to keep food safe.
For more information about Campylobacter, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site at:
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/campylobacter_g.htm
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