Irish Salmonella outbreak linked to duck eggs

The investigation into the current outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 linked with the consumption of duck eggs is ongoing, with five new cases in August. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to date to 24 and it is now the largest food poisoning outbreak of salmonellosis recorded in recent years in Ireland.

According to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) the latest cases tend to be linked with the consumption of duck eggs from small backyard flocks / private farms, with hen eggs not being implicated in the outbreak.

The FSAI is working in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on control measures for commercial flocks and also smaller backyard flocks on private farms. A code of practice has been published for commercial flock owners and also guidelines have been published for producers of small quantities of duck eggs – backyard flocks. Work is also underway by Bord Bia to develop a new quality assurance scheme to ensure a safe source of duck eggs in the future.

The FSAI is continuing to work closely with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre; the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; and various local authorities to control this outbreak and to prevent further cases of illness.

Related website
• Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI )