New Federal Egg Rules May Only Be Beginning, Expert Says

New federal rules currently under consideration requiring tighter standards for large farms selling eggs reflect the tidal changes in food safety that have occurred within the last few years, says an Alabama Cooperative Extension System food safety specialist.

However, she suspects they may be the beginning of an even bigger tidal wave of changes in food processing aimed at ensuring safer food products in the future.

The new federal rules, which will soon be posted for public comment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will require about 4,100 of the nation’s largest egg farms to test their chicken houses for traces of salmonella enteritidis. Farms also will be required to refrigerate eggs once they are collected from hens. They will also be expected to adopt better sanitation measures to control mice and other pests that may harbor salmonella.

“It’s all part of this farm gate-to-plate issue that involves testing animals for pathogens and assuring that outbreaks of foodborne illness can be traced back to their point of origin,” says Dr. Jean Weese, an Extension food scientist and Auburn University associate professor of nutrition and food science.

Still, Weese believes this effort is only part of a much bigger trend that will play out within the next few years. Consumers are increasingly moving toward a zero tolerance standard for all food products --- the reason why she believes precooked food will be the norm in processing foods in the not-too-distant future.

“It could be that pre-cooked products, for better or worse, are likely to be the wave of the future --- the only or virtually only type of meat product available on grocery store shelves,” she says.

While many may perceive her views as slightly tongue in cheek, if not downright outlandish, Weese insists they are a distinct possibility --- a change that may occur sooner rather than later.

“Eggs are a good example,” she says. “We’ve already been cracking them and pasteurizing them for years, and they’re widely used in nursery homes and schools, where concerns about potential salmonella contamination are especially acute.”

“Everything could be like that. Who knows, they may even find a way to precook and package eggs sunny-side up.”

An estimated 118,000 illnesses occur each year because of exposure to salmonella, a pathogen that can take many guises and strike in a variety of ways, Weese says.
One of the most common sources of salmonella poisoning is from contamination during processing --- a problem that occurs when food comes in contact with a contaminated object, such as unwashed hands or poorly sanitized equipment. It is one of the main factors behind the growing interest in precooked foods, she says.
Small wonder why, Weese says; poultry farm and factory workers are among the people most prone to be sickened by salmonellosis, the illness associated with salmonella exposure.

Sickness caused by cross-contamination or from eating undercooked egg and other other poultry products are common problems in the home. Cross-contamination occurs when a product comes in contact with a contaminated object, such as unwashed hands or poorly sanitized equipment.

To avoid exposure from undercooked eggs, Weese recommends frying eggs until the yokes are solid. Boiling and scrambling eggs, on the other hand, are effective methods of cooking from the standpoint of food safety and should kill any remaining traces of salmonella within egg yolk.

The proposed federal rules aimed at ensuring safer eggs will be placed in the Federal Register this week. The public then will have 90 days to comment on the new regulations.

[Source: Dr. Jean Weese, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Food Scientist and Auburn University Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, (334) 844-3269]

Posted by Jim Langcuster at September 22, 2004 04:51 PM | TrackBack