Egg farm identified as infection source in Australian salmonellosis outbreak

An egg producer in the Australian state of Victoria is being investigation as part of efforts to identify the source of an outbreak of salmonellsosis that affected 140 people and hospitalized 15 who had eaten mayonnaise at a restaurant in Canberra.
The outbreak first emerged in mid May and, at the height of the investigation, Australian Capital Territory Health had up to 30 people working on the case at any given time. Emergency response protocols were activated at Canberra Hospital and Calvary Hospital in response to the increasing number of people affected.
Dr. Paul Kelly, ACT chief health officer, commented that he had been struck by the symptoms of the outbreak and the attack rate, and that almost everyone who ate at the restaurant fell ill. Of those treated all had diarrhea, 94 percent presented with abdominal cramps and 92 had fever. One person has ongoing problems related to the infection.
Veterinary inspections are ongoing at the egg farm.

Australia egg industry responds to New Zealand colony cage move

The Australian Egg Corporation Limited has responded to New Zealand's announced shift to furnished or enriched colony cages for its hens, saying that if there was good evidence that hen welfare was significantly improved in colony cage systems, Australia would already have made changes, and that the jury is still out as to whether such colony cages and furnishings in the cage improve welfare for laying hens.
"The Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply in the U.S. is currently conducting major research comparing conventional with colony cage systems, and the AECL is monitoring the results closely," said the corporation. Australia has a number of colony cage systems, and the corporation continues to invest in animal welfare improvements for all farming systems, including cage-type systems.
"Not all consumers have concerns about cage eggs, as the vast majority of eggs sold in Australia are cage eggs — just under 70 percent," said the corporation. "Recent research by the University of Sydney suggests there is no difference in the stress levels of hens in barn, cage and free-range farming systems."
There are welfare advantages and disadvantages in each of the three farming systems. The advantages of cage farms are that hens are protected from inclement weather; protected from predators such as foxes, snakes and eagles; have access to clean food and fresh water; are better protected from potentially dangerous diseases such as avian influenza; are protected from soil or manure-borne diseases; and are less prone to bullying by other hens. The disadvantages are the hens have less room to move and display their full repertoire of natural behavior, said the corporation.

Ukraine receives rights to supply eggs, poultry to EU

Ukraine has been put on the list of approved importers to the EU for eggs, egg products, birds and poultry, according to the State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service of Ukraine. The country has been working with the EU to receive rights to export products to the bloc for some time.
There is still no information on an exact date for when the decision goes into effect, and relevant amendments must be made to the regulations of the European Commission, a process which could take two to three months. In addition, Ukraine must submit to the Commission its Salmonella control program to ensure it is in line with EU requirements.

North Carolina egg farm challenges clean-water regulations

North Carolina egg farm Rose Acre Farms is challenging the state's authority to regulate its air emissions under federal clean-water laws, prompting changes in proposed environmental regulations moving through North Carolina's Senate.
A declaration that airborne discharges from industrial or agricultural operations can’t be considered waste discharges into water is part of the Regulatory Reform Act of 2012, SB810, which is currently going through rewrites in the state's government. Rose Acre has also sued over the issue, after inspectors said they found ammonia in the waterways near the company and contended that the emissions are from the farm's ventilation system.

Egg farm's wastewater treatment system recycles nutrients

Dave Thompson of Pearl Valley Eggs explains each step of the farm's innovative wastewater treatment system, which utilizes aerobic bacteria and a reed bed to recycle nutrients from the egg wash water. Watch the video here.

Possible EU cage ban delay condemned by welfare group

The suggestion that Belgian egg farmers may be allowed more time to comply with the upcoming EU cage ban has been condemned by animal welfare organization Eurogroup for Animals.
The possibility emerged when, in answer to a parliamentary question, a Belgian Minister suggested that she could grant producers who have not changed to another cage system by the January 2012 deadline a six-month extension. “We have called on the European Commission, together with our Belgian member GAIA, to ensure that Belgium is stopped and ordered to conform," said Director of Eurogroup Sonja van Tichelin. Commissioner [for Health and Consumer Affairs John] Dalli has repeatedly stated that there will be no postponement or exemption."

Armenia's Lusakert Poultry Factory charged with creating egg shortage

Armenia's Lusakert Poultry Factory has been fined AMD100 million (US$270,000) in the wake of charges brought by the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition that include creating an egg shortage resulting in price gouging.
The shortage, which occurred in December 2010, was initially said to be caused by increased demand. An investigation by the SCPEC, however, according to chairman Artak Shaboyan, revealed misconduct on the part of Lusakert. The company, said Shaboyan, deliberately cut back on daily supplies of eggs to major retailers and sold some of its production to "unknown buyers" by "shadowy means" in late December.
Lusakert representatives have disputed the claims. "Why would we create the deficit?" said company representative Manase Yepremian. "To make extra profits? It has to be proved that the company has made such profits." Yepremian said the egg shortage was caused by increased consumer demand and the ruling against Lusakert was based on "theoretical observations," rather than concrete evidence.

Egg Industry Center reports on molting

The EIC evaluated records from 12 producer companies using an 80-week, single-cycle program and a 110-week two-cycle program with molting at 70 weeks.

Part five of the Egg Industry Center review of egg production reported on the financial impact of molting. The report (EEU328) dated December 29, 2010 is accessable through the EIC and maro@iastate.edu.
Guided by Don Bell, software was developed, permitting input of production data and price information. The EIC evaluated records from 12 producer companies using an 80-week, single-cycle program and a 110-week two-cycle program with molting at 70 weeks. Eight of the 12 companies demonstrated higher returns with the 80-week program. The 52-week average profit from the 80-week program followed by 12 companies was $4.01 compared to $4.10 for the two-cycle 110-week program.
Further details relating to hen-housed egg production, weekly mortality, case weight and daily feed intake can be reviewed in the report. The averages are indicated in the table below:

Parameter	80 week	70 + 40 weeks
52-week profit	$4.01	$4.10
Hen-housed eggs	340	457
Av.weekly mortality	0.16%	0.19%
Case weight	47.5 lb	48.1 lb
Feed intake per hen	0.220 lb	0.280 lb
Feed conversion	3.24	3.43

Wright County Egg to resume shipments of shell eggs after four-month ban

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that Wright County Egg may resume shipping shell eggs to consumers after a four-month ban related to the August recall of over half a billion shell eggs originating from Wright and Hillandale Farms.
The Salmonella enteritidis-focused recall caused an estimated 1,470 cases of illness. "During the outbreak, I said that the FDA would not agree to the sale of eggs to consumers from Wright County Egg until we had confidence that they could be shipped and consumed safely," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "After four months of intensive work by the company and oversight, testing and inspections by the FDA, I am satisfied that time has come."
The company has taken several corrective measures to address issues that were discovered by the FDA in August. Chicken housing has been cleaned, sanitized and tested; contaminated pullets have been replaced with SE-negative pullets vaccinated against SE; the severe rodent problem has been eliminated and a monitoring system has been put in place; and feed supplies have been made safer through cleaning the feed mill, correcting structural defects, eliminating egg shells, meat and bone meal from the feed and testing the feed for SE. FDA inspections were conducted in October and November verifying the changes.

UK egg farmers want EU to ban exports from producers not compliant with conventional cage ban

The U.K. government has made an official representation to the European Commission to prevent export of eggs from other EU countries to the U.K. that do not comply with EU housing standards. The EU has banned conventional cages, effective 2012, although enriched cages, free range and organic systems are approved.
Some countries, including Poland, have requested waivers from the rule. Jim Paice, Minister of DEFRA stated, “the U.K. industry has worked hard to convert out of battery cages ahead of the European deadline, so that it wouldn’t be fair for them to have to compete with eggs from other European countries that haven’t met the deadline.”
The U.K. government will also introduce a ban on beak trimming with the exception of infrared treatment at day-old.

US school salad bar initiative may provide egg product opportunity

A public-private partnership has launched Let’s Move Salad Bars To Schools to promote consumption of fruits and vegetables. The founding partners include the National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, the United Fresh Produce Association Foundation and the Food Family Farming Foundation.
Tom Stenzel, President and CEO of United Fresh Produce Association, stated “school salad bars are a proven strategy for increasing children fruit and vegetable consumption and launching them on a lifetime of healthy eating.” William Dietz, Director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added “having more salad bars in schools will help make the choice of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables the easiest choice.”
Since there are 31 million children eating school lunches every day, egg products could be incorporated into salad bars with beneficial effects. This appears to be an ideal opportunity for the AEB, which has the technical expertise and respected scientists and dietitians able to promote eggs as a component of the “Let’s Move!” initiative established by the First Lady Michelle Obama.

United Egg Producers address SE crisis, animal welfare

The annual board meeting and executive conference of the United Egg Producers (UEP) held recently in Williamsburg, Va., was detailed in the organization newsletter United Voices. The following initiatives will be implemented.

• The UEP has established a Food Safety Scientific Advisory Council comprising eleven scientific experts to improve industry safety programs.

• The UEP will update the 5-Star Total Quality Assurance Food Safety Program to be presented to the FDA and the FMI for their consideration.

• Funding of approximately $2.7 million will be required for the Michigan State University and the Midwest Universities Consortium to evaluate alternative caged systems, including enriched colony modules.

• Animal welfare guidelines have been established for hatcheries producing pullet chicks, following a 2009 incident involving alleged improper disposal of cockerels.

• The Egg Pack Committee reported contributions for the current year, which exceeded the goal.

• Mark Oldenkemp, of Valley Fresh Foods, was honored as the UEP’s Egg Producer of the Year.

• Howard Helmer received the President’s Award for his long service promoting eggs.

Guest speakers at the conference included Robert Kohlhagn of Diverse Ctiversey Inc. on sustainability. Chuck Conner, president of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, addressed issues relating to cooperatives and activities of the USDA and the Department of Justice. Dr. Cora Morgan of the Food and Drug Administration provided a review on performance measures to access SE reduction and Marie Fenn President, of the National Peanut Board, discussed the salmonella crisis in 2009 affecting peanut products.

Hillandale’s Iowa facility to resume shipping eggs

The Food and Drug Administration informed Hillandale Farms that the Hampton, Iowa, facility could resume shipping table eggs from specific houses based on corrective action and negative environmental assays. Based on positive assays from four houses, egg pool testing will continue before a decision is made concerning the marketability of product from these flocks. Two houses are undergoing decontamination following depletion. In a letter dated October 15, the FDA commented that corrective action to remedy “objectionable conditions noted during the August inspection have been resolved.”
In a separate letter to Mr. Jack Austin DeCoster, the FDA noted that the biosecurity problems and deviations from acceptable standards, as documented during previous inspections, have not been rectified and the company was warned to “take prompt and aggressive action to eliminate salmonella contamination and defects in biosecurity.”
The FDA warned that failure to take prompt action would result in regulatory penalties including seizure of product and injunctions. The warning letter cited deviations from regulations concerning safety of shell eggs with specific reference to rodent control and biosecurity. The recipient of the FDA letter was advised to respond indicating “prompt and aggressive action” to the district director.