Getting ready for Easter brunch or an Easter egg hunt? Here are some food safety tips from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) about eggs. Raw in-shell eggs can be kept in the refrigerator for three to five weeks. Never eat eggs that have an off smell when you crack them or eggs with whites that are pink or iridescent. Both are indications of spoilage. Raw eggs combined with other ingredients according to recipe directions, should be cooked immediately or refrigerated and cooked within 24 hours. Eggs should be cooked until their yolks are firm. Egg casseroles should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 °F as indicated by a food thermometer to be sure. Hard-boiled eggs can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week. If you are dyeing, coloring or decorating … [Read more...]
FDA Sends Warning Letter to Trillium Farms Egg Production Facility
The FDA has sent a warning letter to Trillium Farms LLC egg production facility in Ohio for "serious violations of the Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage, and Transportation Regulation." This failure causes the shell eggs to be considered adulterated. The facility induced molt in a flock, but then did not perform environmental testing for SE in the poultry house as required by law. The facility also did not monitor for rodents by appropriate methods, and did not have a definitive Biosecurity Plan for taking action. They also did not maintain records documenting compliance with refrigeration requirements. Eggs must be held at or below 45 degrees F within 36 hours of lay. The letter was dated November 29, 2012. The facility had fifteen … [Read more...]
Two Egg Production Facilities Warned by FDA
Two egg production facilities have received warning letters from the FDA about violations of the shell egg regulation called the Egg Safety Rule. That regulation is Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 118 (21 CFR 118). The two facilities are SKS Enterprises, Inc. located in California, and Midwest Poultry Services, located in Indiana. Both of these facilities are members of the American Egg Board. SKS Enterprises was warned about five of their farms, all located in California. The letter states that the eggs were "prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health." The violations include failure to conduct environmental testing for Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), … [Read more...]
Australians Have Something to Teach Us: Avoid Raw Eggs
The Australian Food Safety Information council has released a document warning people about the use of raw eggs. It's summer down under, and food poisoning cases related to eggs can increase in the warmer months. But this information is applicable to everyone, even if it's -40 degrees F outside. I did a search on the Australian Department of Health and Ageing page, and found twenty reports of Salmonella outbreaks linked to raw and undercooked eggs. In fact, Food Safety Information Chairman Dr. Michael Eyles says that "dishes containing uncooked or minimally cooked eggs can be a particular risk for food poisoning. OzFoodNet has shown that consumption of foods containing raw or minimally cooked eggs is currently the single largest cause of foodborne Salmonella outbreaks [in … [Read more...]
Former DeCoster Farms Manager Pleads Guilty to Bribery
Former DeCoster Farms manager Tony Wasmund pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a public official to sell restricted eggs and misbranded food. During a plea hearing in Sioux City, Iowa on September 11, 2012, Wasmund acknowledged the crime. DeCoster Farms owned Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, which were the sources of a huge 2010 Salmonella egg recall. The eggs sickened nearly 2,000 people in the nationwide outbreak. The charging document states that in April 2010, before the outbreak, Wasmund gave $300 in petty cash to another employee to bribe a USDA inspector assigned to Wright County Egg. Wasmund wanted to get the inspector to approve eggs for sale that had been banned because they did not meet USDA standards. Wasmund admitted that he committed conspiracy to bribe a public … [Read more...]
Salmonella Heidelberg Found at Former Wright County Egg Facility
In 2010, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms in north central Iowa were the center of a huge egg recall after eggs produced at those facilities were linked to a nationwide outbreak that sickened at least 2,000 Americans. On August 14, 2012, the FDA sent the company that acquired those facilities a warning letter about the presence of Salmonella Heidelberg (SH) bacteria in two of its six poultry houses. More than half a billion eggs were recalled two years ago during the outbreak. Centrum Valley Farms leased all of the egg production facilities owned by Jack and Peter DeCoster in 2011. FDA inspectors discovered Salmonella Heidelberg (SH) in the poultry houses during inspections last April and May. The letter states that the facility has "serious violations of the Prevention of … [Read more...]
FDA Found Violations of Food Safety Rules on 40% of Egg Farms
The FDA has released a new report on egg farms it inspected in 2011. They found violations of egg safety rules used to prevent Salmonella contamination on 40% of the inspected farms, but only 3% of the issues were serious enough for the agency to take action. Last year, the agency inspected 555 egg laying farms. On 14 of those farms, or 2.7%, inspectors found "egregious" problems that called for an official response, such as an FDA warning letter. An additional 195 inspections, or 37.9%, found "significant deficiencies" the agency thinks farmers should be able to correct by themselves. The problems include the following: lack of a written Salmonella enteritidis prevention plan; failure to test for S. enteritidis during required time periods; failure to divert or test eggs after a … [Read more...]
Final Guidance on FDA Egg Rule Now Law
Today, the FDA's final guidance on the egg rule to prevent Salmonella in eggs goes into effect. All shell egg producers with more than 3,000, but less than 50,000 laying hens must now comply with the rule. Farmers with more than 50,000 hens have been abiding by the rule since July 9, 2010. Final guidance was published in December 2011. The rule, called Prevention of Salmonella enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage, and Transportation requires egg producers to implement measures against Salmonella. Eggs must be refrigerated at 45 degrees F or less if they will be held for 36 hours or longer. The clock begins at the end of the day of lay. A biosecurity program must be in place, to limit visitors, protect against cross contamination, prevent animals from entering the … [Read more...]
