Survey of Salmonella Contamination of Raw Shell Eggs Used in Food Service Premises in the United Kingdom, 2005 through 2006

Abstract

This survey was launched after an unusual number of Salmonella Enteritidis outbreaks associated with the use of eggs in food service premises in England and Wales. Between November 2005 and December 2006, 9,528 eggs (1,588 pooled samples of 6 eggs) were collected from 1,567 food service premises in the United Kingdom, most of which (89%) were produced in the United Kingdom. Salmonella was isolated from 6 (0.38%) pools of eggs. Of these, 5 (0.31%) were Salmonella Enteritidis, which were further characterized to phage types (PTs): PT 4 (0.19%), PT 8 (0.06%), and PT 12 (0.06%). Salmonella Mbandaka was also isolated (0.06%). Salmonella was detected from five and one of pooled eggs samples that were produced in the United Kingdom and Germany, respectively; these were from different producers. The study showed evidence of poor egg storage and handling practices in food service premises, in that 55% did not store eggs under refrigerated conditions; 20.7% of eggs had expired "best before" dates or were in use after 3 weeks of lay, indicating poor stock rotation; and 37.1% pooled eggs not intended for immediate service. Eggs are a commonly consumed food that may occasionally be contaminated with Salmonella at different rates, according to their country of origin. The food service sector needs to be aware of this continuing hazard, receive appropriate food safety and hygiene training on storage and usage of raw shell eggs, adopt appropriate control measures, and follow advice provided by national food agencies in order to reduce the risk of infection.

Prevalence, assessment, and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella from raw chicken eggs in Haramaya, Ethiopia

“…Salmonella was detected in 5.5% of eggs imported from Spain, in 6.3% of eggs of unknown origin, and in 1.1% of eggs imported from the UK. Salmonella was not detected in eggs from other countries (France, Germany, Portugal, USA: 0%) [29,30]. Based on the results of the questionnaire, one-third of the consumers practiced eating raw eggs for medicinal values; this could have some negative effects on health.…”

Cell invasion of poultry-associated Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis isolates is associated with pathogenicity, motility and proteins secreted by the type III secretion system

“…Poultry is considered the single largest reservoir of S. Enteritidis and most risk attribution studies have identified poultry and poultry products as the major source of human infection. S. Enteritidis is passed to humans mainly via handling and consumption of contaminated poultry meat and eggs (De Buck et al, 2004;Kimura et al, 2004;Little et al, 2008;Marcus et al, 2004;Patrick et al, 2004;Snow et al, 2007). For instance, eggs and egg-containing products were implicated as primary vehicles of S. Enteritidis Abbreviations: MLVA, multi-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis; PI, post-infection; SPI, Salmonella pathogenicity island; TEM, transmission electron microscopy; TTSS, type III secretion system.…”

Scientific Opinion on the public health risks of table eggs due to deterioration and development of pathogens

“…Eggshell contamination occurs more frequently than the contamination of the egg contents Davies and Breslin, 2004;Little et al, 2007b;Little et al, 2008). There is a non-linear (quadratic) relationship between infection prevalence in laying hens and the rate of eggshell contamination but a linear relationship between the rate of contamination of egg contents and the prevalence of infected laying hens in a flock, with eggshell contamination occurring at a much higher rate than that of egg contents (Arnold et al, 2014a).…”