New federal rules on egg safety take effect

New federal regulations to ensure egg safety and reduce salmonella illness in people are in effect for producers with 50,000 or more laying hens.

Under the rule, which took effect in July 2010, U.S. producers who don’t process shell eggs with a treatment such as pasteurization must buy chicks and young hens only from suppliers who monitor for salmonella bacteria. In addition, they must establish rodent and pest control as well as biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of salmonella throughout the farm.

Egg producers are also required to conduct testing in the poultry house for Salmonella enteritidis (SE). If houses test positive, a representative sample of eggs must be tested over an 8-week period. If any four egg tests are positive, the eggs must be further processed to destroy the bacteria or divert the eggs to non-food use. Producers also have to clean and disinfect poultry houses positive for SE.

Eggs must be refrigerated at 45° F during storage and transport, no later than 36 hours after they are laid. This requirement also applies to producers whose eggs receive a treatment such as pasteurization, according to thepoultrysite.com.

Editor’s note: To read about the challenges that SE control presents to layer producers, see our interview with Dr. Eric Gingerich of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Issue 3 of Layer Health at layerhealth.com.