Imported Spanish egg salmonella warning

Imported Spanish eggs have again been linked to an outbreak of salmonella in the United Kingdom.

The Health Protection Agency has confirmed that 136 cases of salmonella have been reported since the beginning of the year. The infections have been traced back to a farm in Spain, where the hens have now been culled to prevent further problems, but representatives of the UK egg industry say that the best way to ensure food safety is to buy British quality eggs.

"It is really very important that consumers buy local British eggs," said John Retson, chairman of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association. "Eggs produced in this country are produced to the very highest standards. Buying British eggs is the best way to avoid problems like the ones we have seen with these imported eggs."

The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) has pointed out that the current outbreak is the latest in a long line of food poisoning outbreaks associated with imported eggs. It said there was a fatal outbreak of salmonella food poisoning in 2002, which was also linked to Spanish eggs. In 2004, Spanish eggs were linked to a food poisoning outbreak at a café in central London. One third of the Spanish eggs used by the cafe tested positive for salmonella. An outbreak in a restaurant in Kent in 2005 was also linked to Spanish eggs after owners purchased a batch of eggs from an unapproved supplier. In 2009 several outbreaks took place in England involving a strain of salmonella (salmonella enteritidis PT 14b NxCpl) which has not been found in egg-laying flocks in Great Britain.
Salmonella enteritidis PT 14b was again involved in the latest outbreak. A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said they were alerted when laboratories started seeing more cases of this strain than they would normally expect. He said, "We convened an outbreak control team to investigate. Because salmonella enteritidis PT 14b has traditionally been associated with eggs, investigations were focused in that direction." He said testing had isolated the samples to a small number of eggs from a single batch imported from Spain.
The HPA said that the importer of the eggs was immediately contacted and imports were stopped. The spokesman said the eggs were traced to a shed on a farm in Spain. The Spanish authorities were alerted. The flock of hens in that shed had been culled and the shed was being cleaned.
Dr Joe Kearney, a regional director with the HPA and chairman of the outbreak control team (OCT), said, "A strain of salmonella enteritidis PT 14b that is indistinguishable from the samples taken from affected cases has been isolated from a small number of eggs that carried the same batch number.
"This batch of eggs has been linked to a single supplier in Spain. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) formally alerted the Spanish authorities to the situation and as a result measures have been taken to eliminate the risk of contamination from this source, including the heat treatment of eggs to kill any salmonella that may be present.
He said, "These eggs were mainly supplied to catering establishments. No further eggs from the implicated batch have been distributed by the UK company. Eggs from the implicated batch were found in three outlets that sell to both wholesale and retail outlets. These eggs have been withdrawn from sale.
"We expect these developments to have a significant impact in curtailing the outbreak, but in the meantime our investigations are continuing."
Of the 136 cases identified in this latest outbreak, 57 cases arose in North West England and 29 cases arose in the West Midlands. The HPA says it is not aware of any deaths, although we understand that four people were treated at hospital and have since recovered.
As a result of this outbreak, the BEIC has once again issued a statement urging caterers to use British eggs, which are produced to the highest food safety standards. British hens are vaccinated against salmonella.
Andrew Parker, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, said, "It is unbelievable that British consumers are still being put at risk by imported eggs. There are plenty of high quality British eggs available, yet UK caterers think that it’s OK to risk their customers’ health by buying cheap, infected, imported eggs. When will they learn that it’s just not worth it?
He said, "The British egg industry, through the Lion mark, has invested heavily in ensuring that the eggs we sell to consumers are safe, yet we are constantly undermined by eggs that come into the country which are not fit to eat. Caterers should be using due diligence and ensuring that they only serve eggs which conform to Lion standards."
The Health Protection Agency says it is continuing to monitor the situation.

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