Prior to the 1980�s, public health officials did not consider shelled eggs as a major public health concern. The 1976 Food and Drug Administration�s (FDA) Retail Food Service Sanitation Manualexcluded clean, intact shelled eggsfrom the definition of a potentially hazardous food, �capable of supporting the rapid and progressive growth of microorganisms of public health concern.�
This meant that a grocery store was not required to refrigerate cartons of eggs. It was a common practice to display cartons of eggs at room temperature until purchased by the consumer.
In the mid-1980s a number of illness outbreaks were reported in the NE states that were caused by a new variety of Salmonella called enteritidis. Public health investigators found that these outbreaks had one thing in common; the consumption of lightly scrambled eggs served at breakfast buffets and the consumption of other food items containing raw and undercooked eggs.
Unlike other egg-related illnesses of the past, caused by fecal contamination on the outside of the shell, Salmonella enteritidis (SE) was found inside the egg. Researchers confirmed that the SE organism had the ability to be transmitted from hatchery flocks to laying flocks. The SE bacteria were able to infect the ovaries of apparent healthy hens and contaminate eggs before the shell was formed.
By 1990, it was recognized that clean, intact shelled eggs had to be handled as a potentially hazardous food. State and local food codes were revised to require grocery stores and restaurants to refrigerate cartons of eggs to control the growth of Salmonella. The FDA also provided guidance to flock owners on controlling the transmission of SE from hatchery flocks to laying flocks to be implemented on a voluntary basis.
Voluntary compliance by the commercial egg industry appeared to be working until this summer. Commercial egg producers in Iowa, with flocks of 100,000 to more than a million laying hens have been identified as the source of the current nationwide. Inspectors have reported finding SE contamination inside the shell, gross SE contamination on the outside of the shell and in the animal feed being used.
On September 8, 2010, much of FDA�s voluntary guidance became mandatory as a result of Congress finally passing FDA�s long awaited Egg Safety Rule. The new rule makes routine microbiologic testing for SE mandatory for egg producers having more than 50,000 laying hens.
DSHS and local health officials are advising the general public to not use any Wright County Farm eggs from Iowa. Consumers should also use the following precautions; �Cook eggs until both the white and the yolk are firm and eat promptly after cooking. Keep eggs refrigerated at 45 F or below at all times. Discard cracked or dirty eggs. Do not keep eggs warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.�
Local health officials are advising restaurants to use pasteurized eggs in Hollandaise sauce, Caesar salad dressing and other dishes that call for the use of raw eggs. Pasteurized eggs have been used in local nursing homes and long-term health care facilities for several years. Additional information on the egg recall may be obtained at: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/shelleggsrecall/
http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/eggs-and-salmonella/
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