Strain of salmonella spread across egg farms in NSW and Victoria

SHARING of eggs between farms is being blamed for the spread of the rare strain of salmonella enteritidis across at least six egg farms, with the possibility of more farms being affected.

Cracks in the system: Farms that have had eggs recalled due to salmonella outbreaks.

SHARING of eggs between farms is being blamed for the spread of the rare strain of salmonella enteritidis across at least six egg farms in NSW and Victoria, with the possibility of more farms being affected.

Investigations have revealed “the affected properties have clear links in that people, eggs or equipment had been moving between them,” according to the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Since September there have been six major recalls of eggs due to a strain of salmonella once considered “exotic” in Australia.

Glendenning Farms, Bridgewater Poultry Farm, Ash and Sons Eggs, Southern Highland Organics, Steve’s Farm Fresh Eggs and Port Stephens Eggs all voluntarily recalled their eggs, with that number likely to increase.

“It is possible there may be further detections of salmonella enteritidis resulting from increases in surveillance and, if required, further recalls may be necessary to ensure risks to consumers are managed,” a NSW DPI spokeswoman said.

Australian Eggs chief executive Rowan McMonnies said egg sharing was common in the industry.

“Egg farming businesses regularly trade eggs to meet changes in customer requirements and it is acceptable practice for a farm to stamp and brand eggs that have come from another farm providing they meet the same standards,” Mr McMonnies said.

“However, these incidents have demonstrated the importance of good biosecurity practices and traceability to ensure the public and egg farms are protected.”

Victorian Farmers Federation egg group vice president Brian Ahmed said while it was necessary in the egg industry, sharing between farms needed to be better regulated.

“We have to trade. There’s no way the supermarkets could get the eggs they need all year round without it,” Mr Ahmed said. “Before the salmonella enteritidis it wasn’t so much of a problem. But now quality assurance programs are a must and there are a lot of farms without it. If farms are being tested all the time then even if there is an outbreak they can catch it early.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said although country-of-origin labelling laws did not require businesses to disclose the specific region products were sourced from, egg farms had to ensure any claim about the origin of their products was accurate.

“If a business makes a statement about a product, including its geographical origin, then this must be true and accurate,” aspokesman said.

“In general, under the Australian Consumer Law, business are not allowed to make statements that are misleading, create a false impression or fail to disclose relevant information to consumers.”

Mr McMonnies encouraged consumers to remember all other eggs are safe to eat, with the majority of farms remaining unaffected by contamination.

“We always recommend people cook their eggs and follow good hygiene practices just to be on the safe side,” he said.