Two Egg Production Facilities Warned by FDA

Two egg production facilities have received warning letters from the FDA about violations of the shell egg regulation called the Egg Safety Rule. That regulation is Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 118 (21 CFR 118). The two facilities are SKS Enterprises, Inc. located in California, and Midwest Poultry Services, located in Indiana. Both of these facilities are members of the American Egg Board.

SKS Enterprises was warned about five of their farms, all located in California. The letter states that the eggs were “prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.” The violations include failure to conduct environmental testing for Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), conflicting information about pullet age, failure to implement the SE prevention plan, and failure to prevent stray and wild animals from entering poultry houses. Wild bird nests were found in eaves of the facilities.

That company also failed to maintain records documenting rodent and other pest control measures, and workers induced a molt in a flock but then did not perform environmental testing for SE. The facilities also do not have an environmental sampling plan that is appropriate for the poultry house layout.

In 2010, almost 2,000 consumers were sickened by an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis associated with shell eggs. Consumers should cook all eggs and products containing eggs to at least 160 degrees F to destroy bacteria present in that product. Salmonella can be inside the egg, since the bacteria can be found in hen’s ovaries and becomes encapsulated within the yolk. The eggs should be cooked until the yolk is firm. Pasteurized eggs should be used if you want to make a recipe that uses raw eggs, or if you want to fry or poach eggs to a soft consistency.