A five-month Guardian investigation which uncovered “hygiene failings” at two of the largest UK poultry processors has prompted the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and three major supermarkets in the UK to launch their own inquiries. The allegations have been directed at two factories owned by 2 Sisters Food Group which supply fresh chicken and chicken for ready meals to Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, M&S, KFC and a slaughterhouse owned by Faccenda, which supplies Asda and Nando’s. Incidents from the last month that the Guardian identified included “a factory floor flooded with chickens guts in which the bacteria can flourish, carcasses coming into contact with workers’ boots then returned to the production line and other poor practices involving points in the production chain that increase the risk of its spread.” Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer told the newspaper that they had launched their own investigations into the allegations. FSA said it “conducted detailed audits” at the 2 Sisters plants on July 25 and that initial results showed one plant as “Good” and the other as “Generally Satisfactory.” The investigations are occurring as FSA reverses its decision to “name and shame” supermarkets and processors by publishing their Campylobacter results every quarter. The agency fears that the results could be misinterpreted or potentially cause a “food scare.” “Other government departments have reflected to us concerns which are the same as those we’ve heard directly from retailers and producers,” Steve Wearne, director of policy at the FSA told the Guardian. “We’re not letting the industry off the hook. We’ll publish all the names when we’ve completed [the survey] next summer.” Campylobacter is the most common foodborne pathogen in the UK, with an estimated 280,000 cases and 39,000 doctor consultations. Other common foodborne pathogens include Clostridium perfringens (an estimated 80,000 cases), Norovirus (an estimated 74,000 cases) and Salmonella (an estimated 33,000 cases). Salmonella was ranked first in terms of hospital admissions (about 2,500), indicating the severity of illness.