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  • From: Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Salmonella in eggs finally get regulated by FDA
  • Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 21:38:21 -0700

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Reuters <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/reuters/brand/SIG=pd7i95/*http://www.reuters.com>
Farms Should Test for Salmonella in Eggshells-FDA

2 hours, 19 minutes ago

/By Christopher Doering/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Large U.S. farms that sell eggs will be required to adopt stricter food safety measures to reduce the risk of chicken egg shells being contaminated with salmonella, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (news <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22Food%20and%20Drug%20Administration%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw> - web sites <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=Food%20and%20Drug%20Administration>) said on Monday.



The FDA (news <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22FDA%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw> - web sites <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=FDA>) proposed new rules that will require about 4,100 of the nation's biggest egg farms to test their chicken houses for salmonella enteritidis. The farms will also have to refrigerate eggs once they are collected from hens and adopt better sanitation measures to control mice and other pests.

An estimated 118,000 illnesses a year are caused by eating eggs contaminated with salmonella enteritidis, according to the FDA. The agency said its proposed rules for farms would cut the number of cases by an estimated 33,500 annually.

Eating eggs with salmonella enteritidis that have not been fully cooked can lead to severe diarrhea, short term or chronic arthritis and in rare cases, death. The elderly, children and individuals with weak immune systems are most susceptible.

Unlike other forms of salmonella, the illness is spread when an infected hen transfers the disease to shell eggs.

The new rules will not apply to farms that pasteurize their eggs to destroy harmful germs, the agency said.

The FDA said it targeted stricter food safety practices on the farm after guidelines issued in 2000 for safe handling and refrigeration of eggs by retailers failed to cut the rate of salmonella.

"The incidence of these illnesses has really pretty much remained steady over the past several years," Robert Brackett, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told reporters. "This will be a sort of landmark rule that will help to decrease those number of illnesses."

LONG TIME COMING

Consumer groups said they welcomed the stricter rules.

"It's been talked about and promised and we're glad the egg regulation is finally out, but everything was in place to get this out almost five years ago," said Caroline Smith DeWall, director of food safety for the Center of Science in the Public Interest.

"It targets the right areas, which are farm-based controls that can really eliminate this hazard," she added.

The biggest change will require large egg farms to test henhouses for the disease. If salmonella enteritidis is found in the building, the building must be disinfected, eggs must be tested and any contaminated eggs cannot be sold on retail shelves.

"It's not going to be too hard for most of the industry to get up to speed with this proposed regulation," said Hilary Shallo Thesmar, director at the Egg Safety Center, a division of the American Egg Board which represents the industry.

"The big (egg producers) who supply the major grocery store chains...they already have food safety programs. They monitor their farms. They test their eggs," she said.

The FDA estimated the rules would cost each large farm about $20,000 annually, while saving taxpayers $490 million each year.

"The estimated benefits are dramatic," said Lou Carson, deputy director of food safety at the FDA. "The benefits are obviously for a safer food product, but mostly they are derived from reduced hospitalization and long-term injuries."

U.S. farm groups, consumer organizations and the public will have 90 days to comment on the rule after it is published in the Federal Register this week.

Separately, the FDA also said it will work with the U.S. Agriculture Department to decide if guidelines are needed to reduce illnesses from serving undercooked eggs at retail outlets.


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  • [Homestead] Salmonella in eggs finally get regulated by FDA, Tvoivozhd, 09/21/2004

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