Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the prevalence of salmonella in chicken sold in shops and restaurants in the UK.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has delivered educational campaigns to caterers and consumers on reducing the risks of Salmonella infection through good food hygiene practices. The latest figures show that the number of confirmed cases of Salmonella in the United Kingdom has reduced: there were 8,924 confirmed in 2013 compared to 9,307 in 2012, continuing a gradual downward trend since 2001. The focus of the majority of controls of Salmonella in chicken is earlier in the food chain, during primary production. This means that the risk of Salmonella is significantly reduced before chicken produced in the UK reaches shops and restaurants. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs leads on the control of Salmonellas in broilers and laying flocks, working closely with the FSA.