Purdue University scientists are testing samples from Indiana's chicken farms as part of a new federal push to fight the spread of salmonella enteritidis found in undercooked, infected eggs.

 

Dozens of samples taken from the farms are arriving each week at the Purdue-based Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory to test for the pathogenic bacteria that can lead to salmonellosis in humans.

 

"The object is to reduce the illness from salmonella – prevent it from spreading into food," said Steve Hooser, director of the state's Toxicology Section at the Purdue lab.

 

To handle the influx of samples, the lab has spent the past year developing a uniform testing procedure for salmonella enteritidis.

 

Hooser said that to get a sample, egg producers must literally take a swab and run it through all the excrement on the floors of poultry houses. He said those samples are needed to get a true picture of what's on those floors.

 

Ching Ching Wu, a professor of comparative pathobiology at Purdue, developed the testing technique, including explicit instructions on how samples should be handled so that tests can be reliably repeated.

 

Growing, testing and identifying a salmonella sample at the lab on the campus' south side takes up to 10 days. Under the FDA rule that took effect last year, farms with at least 50,000 laying hens that do not sell all their eggs directly to consumers must meet the first compliance deadline of July 9.

 

Farms with fewer than 50,000 but at least 3,000 laying hens have until July 9, 2012. The regulation does not apply to producers with fewer than 3,000 laying hens. Proper refrigeration and cooking of eggs until the yolks are firm reduces the risk of contracting salmonella, according to the FDA.

 

Paul Brennan, executive vice president of the Purdue-based Indiana State Poultry Association, said the industry already has adopted programmes to reduce the risk of salmonella infections. Disinfecting poultry houses, getting rid of salmonella-carrying rodents and pest control programmes are doing the job. Brennan said he believes much of the work for reducing salmonella in the egg industry "is already in place."

 

Producers can send samples to Purdue and other labs or even create their own approved testing facilities under the FDA rule, which spells out what producers must do if poultry houses or eggs test positive for salmonella.

 

If salmonella is found in eggs, the producer must process the eggs to destroy the bacteria or divert the eggs to a nonfood use until four consecutive egg tests over an eight-week period are negative.