Salmonella Enteritidis : Part 2

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 3)

The Voluntary Model State Program

The Northeastern Conference on Avian Diseases in 1987 proposed a voluntary model state program, which FDA and USDA then modified. The program calls for state agriculture, veterinary and health officials to work together to test the poultry flocks in their states for Salmonella enteritidis.

There are different levels of flocks in the poultry industry, starting with the grandparents. Only 800,000 birds in the United States, owned by five companies, make up these primary breeders. They produce the multiplier, or parent, flocks, which in turn produce the 230 million commercial, egg-laying hens.

The main targets of this massive, nationwide testing effort are the grandparent and parent birds, based on the theory that the infection is passed from mother to chick. Egg-laying hens that have produced eggs implicated in outbreaks or that are offspring of infected parent birds also should be tested.

Under the plan, blood samples are taken from 300 birds per age group in a flock. (The number of birds in a flock can vary from a few thousand to a hundred thousand.) If blood tests from any of the chickens are positive, state officials must take cultures from birds in that flock. The plan calls for destruction of infected flocks.

Another provision in the plan calls for routine culturing of the hens cages and litter. Sometimes fertilized eggs don?t hatch, and, under the program, every three months 30 embryos from such eggs should also be cultured.

Under the voluntary plan, eggs from infected flocks are to be pasteurized (broken and heat processed) to destroy the bacteria. There is no evidence that Salmonella enteritidis survives pasteurization. Pasteurized eggs are used in many commercial food products, such as baked goods.

Making Testing Mandatory

The effectiveness of the voluntary program depends upon producers willingness to test and, if necessary, replace infected flocks. However, according to Madden, the increase and spread of the problem suggest that producers and states are not following the program.

Because of this concern, Madden announced at the annual meeting of the U.S. Animal Health Association on Oct. 31 that FDA is working on a regulation to require mandatory testing. The United States would not be the first to have such a program; the United Kingdom instituted a mandatory plan in March 1989.

The testing program that FDA is reviewing would target both breeder and commercial egg-producing flocks. In addition, the proposed regulation under consideration when this article went to press would tighten requirements of the current program by specifying organ specimen size and culturing media used. It would leave little room for discretion, says Madden.

Under the voluntary program, producers could choose to send their samples to industry-owned laboratories certified by state agriculture departments under the National Poultry Improvement Program. (NPIP is a cooperative state-federal agriculture program, established in 1935, that already has in place the mechanism for reporting diseases spread by poultry.) Or, producers could choose to send culture samples to private laboratories certified by USDA under the voluntary model program.

USDA responded to the increasing concern over the Salmonella enteritidis problem by passing an interim rule on Feb. 16. The regulation, which allows for a 60-day comment period but went into effect immediately, makes testing of primary and multiplier flocks mandatory. Much of the work will be done through NPIP.

Backing of Law

FDA also has the backing of law to attack the Salmonella enteritidis problem. The Public Health Service Act authorizes FDA to take steps to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases. Under this provision, the agency can issue regulations requiring flock testing and certification before the eggs can be shipped in interstate commerce.

Another law supports the mandatory program. Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the agency can seize products of a diseased animal. If an egg producer does not want the eggs destroyed, FDA can request a court order requiring that the eggs be pasteurized.

Egg Industry Cooperation

At the same time that FDA and USDA have been working on regulations for mandatory testing, the egg industry has been developing its own quality assurance program. Ken Klippen, vice president of the United Egg Producers (a federation of regional cooperatives representing most of the laying-hen producers in the United States), says that UEP is drafting a new food safety plan. The program will address the Salmonella enteritidis problem and will be a brand new thrust for the industry, says Klippen.

To the producers of the 67 billion eggs marketed in the United States every year, Salmonella enteritidis is an economic as well as a public health issue, as FDA acknowledged at the September 1988 public hearing on Salmonella and eggs.

Resolving the economic issue will be difficult. Most breeders and egg producers have been seeking USDA indemnification, or reimbursement, for flocks that are destroyed. USDA's responsibility, however, is limited to protecting agriculture, livestock and poultry. For instance, while hens infected with Salmonella enteritidis often do not become noticeably sick, in the 1983 avian influenza outbreak sick hens died and there was a significant mortality in the infected flocks. In the avian flu case, says USDA, indemnification was the appropriate response.

About the Author

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FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.