Campylobacter risk management

Actions we've taken

The Ministry for Primary Industries has:

helped more than halve foodborne campylobacteriosis since 2006
put controls in place for food processors to limit Campylobacter levels
developed a new strategy and action plan for 2020 to 2025
set a goal to reduce foodborne cases by a further 20% by the end of 2024
co-led production of international guidelines for controlling Campylobacter in poultry
produced international guidance for verifying Campylobacter control in poultry processing
in 2020, published a major case-control study of campylobacteriosis that estimates that 84% of foodborne Campylobacter cases are associated with the poultry pathway.

Our strategy is helping reduce rates of Campylobacter

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has a strategy and work plan to manage the risk of foodborne campylobacteriosis in New Zealand. We're aiming to reduce foodborne campylobacteriosis in New Zealand by 20% by the end of 2024.

Since 2006, our strategies have reduced foodborne campylobacteriosis in New Zealand. Our Campylobacter Action Plan mainly focuses on the poultry food chain. It uses a risk-based, farm-to-plate chain approach. The approach identifies, selects, and implements new control measures. These measures will greatly reduce the rate of campylobacteriosis in New Zealand.

Campylobacter Action Plan 2020-2024 [PDF, 272 KB]

A governance group oversees the action plan

A governance group meets regularly to review progress and discuss issues.

November 2023 meeting minutes of the governance group [PDF, 385 KB]

This chart shows the annual estimated incidence rates of domestically acquired foodborne campylobacteriosis since 2017. A baseline incidence of 88 cases per 100,000 population (calculated as an average of the period 2017-2019) is shown (dashed line). The Campylobacter Action Plan public health improvement goal to reduce incidence by 20% is shown as a target incidence of 70 cases per 100,000 population (solid line). The chart shows that in 2017, rates were above 90 and in 2022 there were about 80 cases per 100,000 people.

Research helps us to control Campylobacter

To prioritise our work on Campylobacter, we need to understand the importance of different:

sources of Campylobacter
ways people get infected.

To do this, we've done a lot of research on the poultry, meat, and milk food chains.

Setting regulatory limits for chilled poultry carcasses

In 2008, we introduced the Campylobacter performance target (CPT). It measured Campylobacter levels in processed chicken, to check how effectively our measures reduced levels. We will continue to sample Campylobacter to make sure processors are producing food within acceptable limits. Samples are taken through our National Microbiological Database (NMD).

National Microbiological Database programme for meat

Source assigned campylobacteriosis in New Zealand study

Campylobacter case control study summary – SACNZS

Source Assigned Campylobacteriosis in New Zealand Study (SACNZS) [PDF, 5.4 MB]

Collaboration with Consumer NZ

Are frozen, crumbed chicken products safe to eat? – Consumer NZ

International influence

International food safety standards are coordinated through the Codex Alimentarius Commission. New Zealand and Sweden co-led Codex work to develop the international guidelines for control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat.

Guidelines for control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat

In 2014, we prepared guidance for best hygienic practice in poultry processing. This was published internationally for other countries to adapt and use.

Example of a microbiological criterion (MC) for verifying the performance of a food safety control system: Campylobacter performance target at end of processing of broiler chickens – Science Direct