Two-thirds of fresh chicken sold in British supermarkets is contaminated with E.coli, a shock new study claims.
The figures were highest in England where around 78 per cent of the meat tested positive for the superbug, the Daily Mail reported.
Although the strain found in high street stores is not the one which usually leads to food poisoning, it can still stay in the body for several years and could make people resistant to antibiotics when they do get an infection, experts warned.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s Morrisons and Asda were among the major supermarkets where samples were taken for the study, carried out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Campaigners claimed the high rate was due to chicks being given antibiotics to stop them contracting bugs, with E-coli mutating over several decades to build up resistance.
Dr Mark Holmes, reader in microbial genomics and veterinary science at Cambridge University, warned that Government advice on handling chicken hygienically and cooking it thoroughly was not enough.
He told the Daily Mail: “People do get food poisoning and every time someone falls ill, instead of just getting a food poisoning bug they might also be getting a bug that is antibiotic-resistant.
“If they end up developing sepsis or a urinary tract infection they may well find they have a bug that is resistant to the first-choice antibiotic. By the time they get on to the right antibiotic the bug could be out of control. It can even lead to death.'
Andrew Opie, director of food at the British Retail Consortium, said: “We've been crystal clear in saying that antibiotics must be used responsibly.
“Retailers do not support the routine preventive use of antibiotics where such disease challenges can be prevented by better husbandry and farm management.”
Sales of antibiotics for use in UK animals have fallen over the last four years, Defra claimed.
