April 10, 2007

Survey shows eggs from Ireland free of salmonella

Strict production methods has ensured that eggs made in Ireland are now virtually free of salmonella.

A new survey involving an analysis of over 5,000 egg samples showed just two contained salmonella in their shell and none in the egg contents.

This is a vast improvement over the situation in the 1980s when there was a steep rise in the number of human cases of salmonella enteritidis, which causes severe and sometimes fatal food poisoning.

The results were very encouraging as they showed control methods had been effective in Ireland, said chief executive Martin Higgins of Safefood, the company which conducted the survey.

A recent survey in the UK showed much higher levels of salmonella in eggs than those in Ireland.