Big Egg Recall Came Despite FDA's New Salmonella Rules

(Aug. 18) -- Millions of eggs have been recalled over concerns of salmonella contamination. While hardly the first such scare, the timing is noteworthy: It comes a month after the Food and Drug Administration started a crackdown on manufacturers meant to prevent just this kind of health hazard.

Which eggs are involved in the recall?

A grand total of 228 million eggs are being recalled, all of them produced by Wright County Egg.

The eggs were sold nationwide under a handful of brand names: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps.

Customers are being advised to check plant numbers (P-1026, P-1413 and P-1946) and relevant dates (136 to 225). Cartons bearing those IDs can be returned to the store where purchased for a full refund.

Are people already sick?

Yes, and the Centers for Disease Control speculates that they've been falling ill from contaminated eggs since May.

The agency usually receives reports of about 50 cases of salmonella poisoning a month. Since May, they've been getting closer to 200 each week. It's likely that thousands of people nationwide have been sickened, but few report their illnesses.

The salmonella bacteria can enter eggs through the feces of infected hens and penetrate an egg's shell during the egg laying process. Better hygiene standards have reduced those instances, but the bacteria can still "silently infect the ovaries of healthy appearing hens," according to the CDC.

Salmonella is usually characterized by cramps, nausea and diarrhea, and crops up a few days after consuming the contaminated food. The illness usually persists for about a week.

What does the new FDA rule do?

Announced last summer, it enforces routine salmonella testing of all major egg farms that don't distribute directly to consumers. The rules also mandate better preventive measures and refrigeration requirements during egg transport and storage.

Farms were given nearly a year to comply, with a deadline of July 9, 2010. If samples test positive for salmonella, the farm is forced to institute more rigorous testing and, if warranted, treat the eggs being produced from a given flock for the duration of those hens' lifespans.

Why didn't the FDA's regulation stop the outbreak?

Probably because it was enforced too late. The eggs produced were already on store shelves well before July 9.

Paul Brennan, executive vice president of the Indiana State Poultry Association, argues that a few hundred million possibly rotten eggs do not mean the whole industry is bad. He told Food Safety News that most egg companies were operating according to the FDA's rules well before they were officially enforced.

"I think that a lot of the work to reduce [salmonella] in the egg industry is already in place," he said.