Warning over organic chicken

More organic chickens sold by the "big four" supermarkets contain a food poisoning bug then factory farmed poultry, according to a television investigation.

When scientists tested 46 organic birds from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons they found 41 (89 per cent) contained the most common bacteria that causes food poisoning, campylobacter.

This compares to the 70 per cent of factory farmed chickens that Government tests showed to carry the bug, found the programme Tonight With Trevor McDonald.

The series also analysed the birds for the antibiotic-resistant 'superbug' form of campylobacter and found 26 per cent tested positive.

Professor Martin Blaser, head of medicine at New York Medical school and an expert on the bacteria, told the programme: "I think it's important to educate the public that organic chicken is not free of bacteria and it's not free of campylobacter and it has to be prepared in exactly the same safe ways that non organic chicken is."

The programme will also broadcast covert footage filmed by an animal welfare organisation at a farm that supplies organic chickens to Asda.

The images are said to show two week old birds that are attacked and eaten alive by vermin and others with "hock burns" on their legs caused by ammonia from chicken waste.

Asda, in a statement sent to the programme makers, said: "We insist that all of our suppliers adhere to the strictest health, safety and food hygiene standards, and that is why we take allegations made against any of our suppliers extremely seriously."