Tainted Eggs - New Information

New information on the recent outbreak of salmonella caused by eggs from two Iowa farms: after the initial FDA inspection, the condition of the farms were found to be severely neglected and unsanitary.

From the Washington Post:

“[Inspectors] found dead maggots and live flies that crunched under foot at Wright County Egg, where the FDA also documented a hen house bulging from manure ... [they] made numerous observations about holes in buildings or gaps in structures, which can allow rodents, pigeons and other animals to enter hen houses. On several occasions, investigators saw live rodents running through hen houses at both farms.”

"The salmonella outbreak that led to the recall of 380 million eggs was preventable and will likely grow", CNN reported last month, when the salmonella outbreak began.

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), hundreds of Americans became ill from these tainted eggs. Notice the mention of the preventability of the salmonella outbreak.

"From May 1 to July 31, a total of 1,953 cases of Salmonella enteritidis were reported; the expected number of such cases ordinarily in that time would be about 700, stated Dr. Christopher Braden, the acting director of the CDC's division of food-borne, waterborne and environmental diseases," as reported by CNN.

The key conclusion that came out of the report by CNN is that this all could have been prevented if the proper testing and storage rules would have been followed.

"'The outbreak could have been prevented.' McGarry said. 'The egg safety rule is in a phase-in approach, but there are measures that would have been in place that could have prevented this if it been placed earlier than in July.'

FDA's new rules cover refrigeration of stored and transported eggs, pasteurization, rodent control, cleanliness and a required written Salmonella enteritidis prevention plan. The agency said 'implementing the preventive measures would reduce the number of Salmonella Enteritidis infections from eggs by nearly 60 percent.'

Producers with more than 50,000 laying hens, or about 80 percent of the market, were to comply by now. The regulations requires 'egg producers with fewer than 50,000 but at least 3,000 laying hens whose shell eggs are not processed with a treatment, such as pasteurization, to comply with the regulation by July 9, 2012.'"

Let's hope the FDA gets some new rules and procedures set in place for the sanitation of these farms producing the eggs that millions of Americans consume everyday.

Almost as bad as those documentaries they have about chicken farms...

Quotes pulled from The Consumerist and CNN