At least 9 countries affected by US eggs salmonella outbreak

The FDA said this week that eggs from Rose Acre Farms, the company at the centre of the massive egg recall, were distributed to:

1. the United Arab Emirates,
2. Haiti, the Bahamas,
3. Hong Kong,
4. Cayman Islands,
5. Turks and Caicos Islands,
6. Saint Barthélemy,
7. Saint Martin
8. Aruba
9. the US Virgin Islands.

The shell eggs have been linked to a salmonella outbreak that has affected at least 23 people across 9 states. They have been confirmed with Salmonella Braenderup infections, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Infection. Six of the people were admitted to hospitals.

Rodent infestation probable cause of contamination

A total of 207 million eggs have been recalled with the FDA finding the linked North Carolina farm to have had an ongoing rodent control and sanitation problem, which could have contributed to the contamination of egg processing equipment and eggs.

During the inspection, the FDA looked at the farm’s pest control records from September 2017, which reflected an ongoing rodent infestation. During the visit, the FDA saw live rodents in a number of areas of 8 poultry houses.

Control steps not properly implemented

And a review of sanitation procedures found that cleaning steps were not properly implemented.

The report from the FDA to Rose Acre Farms Hyde Country Egg said: “When your monitoring indicates unacceptable rodent activity within a poultry house, appropriate methods were not used to achieve satisfactory rodent control.

“Specifically, a review of your pest control records from September 2017 to present indicate an ongoing infestation. The corrective actions taken by your firm have not been effective at reducing the rodent levels within your poultry houses to an acceptable level that is below the threshold established in your SE Prevention Plan

Food Safety News reported that in the United States the recalled eggs were sold to restaurants and distributed under a variety of brands, including Walmart’s Great Value brand, Crystal Farms, Food Lion, Publix and others. It said that after Rose Acre Farms’ initial recall, Cal-Maine Foods Inc recalled eggs it had received from Rose Acre and packaged under even more brands.