The new final guidance and regulation are designed to prevent Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) in shell eggs. SE is one of the leading bacterial causes of foodborne illnesses in the United States. This regulation and guidance applies to all operations that have 3,000 or more laying hens. The regulation became effective July 9, 2012 but was previously effective July 9, 2010 for those operations that had 50,000 or more laying hens.
The guidance explains why the regulation was developed, who must comply with it, what SE preventative measures must be performed, the environmental testing requirements, the egg testing requirements, sampling methodology, testing methodology, registration requirements, enforcement and compliance.
For example, under preventative measures all shell eggs are to be held and transported under 45 °F ambient temperature beginning 36 hours after the time the egg was laid. There are cleaning and disinfectant requirements, biosecurity program requirements, record keeping requirements and administration of the egg safety program requirements.
Under this guidance (http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInfor…), the US FDA clearly states that eggs containing SE are adulterated. This means that if eggs test positive for SE, the egg producer should recall or withdrawal the eggs if they are already on the market.
Eggs are to be tested in accordance to the methodology as described in Chapter 5 of the US FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) or equivalent method. SGS has the capabilities to test for Salmonella in their laboratories throughout the globe.
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For further information about egg safety and Salmonella testing, please contact the SGS experts.
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Source: SGS