The latest Recall Index from Stericycle Expert Solutions has revealed that recalls of chicken and other poultry meats in Europe during the third quarter were higher than any other food category for the second quarter in a row.

According to the global business-to-business services company, Brazil was the top country of origin.

Recalls related to poultry dropped to 137 from 223 over the last three months compared with the second quarter.

Poultry that originated in Brazil witnessed a fall by 56.9% indicating an improvement for the country.

Brazil carried out an intensive investigation into the alleged bribing of food safety inspectors after many countries, including those in the EU, and curtailed its meat imports.

Food recalls primarily took place due to the risk of bacterial contamination, which was behind 226 of the 866 food recalls logged.

“Measures taken in Brazil at the beginning of the quarter have helped to reduce the number of recalls and notifications relating to Brazilian poultry exports by quite a margin.”

The Q3 2017 Stericycle Expert Solutions Recall and Notification Index also shows that the second highest cause of food recalls was chemicals, which can range from pesticides through to contaminants from plastic packaging.

Stericycle Expert Solutions European vice-president Farzad Henareh said: “We can clearly see that measures taken in Brazil at the beginning of the quarter have helped to reduce the number of recalls and notifications relating to Brazilian poultry exports by quite a margin.

“However, an incident of this nature only reinforces the importance of very high food standards and rigorous legislation.

“Given that there are many hazards around food production and manufacture, we would encourage the industry to get a robust recall plan in place and be prepared.”

The overall rate of food and beverage products being recalled has hardly moved from 871 in the second quarter to 866 in the next quarter, despite a fall in poultry recalls quarter on quarter.