Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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Salmonella control consultation announced
Defra has today launched a consultation on the implementation of a National Control Programme for salmonella in poultry laying flocks.
Salmonella is a common cause of food poisoning and can cause serious illness in humans. The aim of the programme is to reduce the levels of the two most important types of salmonella for human health, Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) and Salmonella Typhimurium (ST).
Current UK levels are among the lowest in Europe, with Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium present on 8% of holdings with laying flocks.
The UK has been set a target to reduce these two types of Salmonella by 10% each year for the next three years. The programme sets out how this will be achieved and includes mandatory sampling and testing requirements to demonstrate progress towards this target.
In 2009, additional measures will also come into force for premises where either type of salmonella has been found. Eggs from flocks confirmed to be infected will not be permitted to be sent for human consumption unless they have been heat-treated to guarantee the elimination of salmonella of human health significance.
The consultation launched today seeks views on how this National Control Programme should be implemented.
The UK's Chief Veterinary Officer, Debby Reynolds, said:
"Salmonella in flocks is already low in the UK and our National Control Programme will be a key step forward in achieving even greater reductions, with the support of the poultry industry which has already made excellent progress reducing salmonella through voluntary programmes."
The consultation documents can be viewed at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/ncp-layingflocks/index.htm
Notes for Editors
1. By February 2008 all Member States are expected to have implemented a National Control Programme which meets the requirements of EU legislation (Regulation (EC) 2160/2003). This is intended to ensure that coherent action to reduce Salmonellas of human health significance is taken across the Community and that information on Salmonella status in Member States can be compared more easily. The EU legislation provides a framework for the National Control Programme and details the phases of production which sampling and testing for the Salmonellas must cover.
2. Regulation (EC) 1168/2006 established the details of obligatory sampling and testing in each member state and imposed reduction targets for each country. For the UK this target is for an annual reduction of at least 10% in the number of adult laying flocks found positive for SE or ST compared with the previous year.
3. A nation-wide survey of commercial laying flock holdings was carried out in 2004 -2005. The results showed that around 8% of layer flock holdings in the United Kingdom (UK) were infected with Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium. This result provides the starting baselines against which the target will be judged. Similar surveys took place across all EU member states and the average prevalence for SE or ST in laying flock holdings was 20.4%. The full report by the European Food Safety Authority of the surveys from all Member States can be found at: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/science/monitoring_zoonoses/reports/report_finlayinghens.html
4. A survey of retail eggs by the Food Standards Agency in 2003 tested 28,518 eggs and found that one in every 290 boxes of six eggs on sale had Salmonella contamination (on shells only), compared with 1 in 100 in a 1995/6 survey. The 2004 survey also found that Salmonella was not present in the contents of any of the eggs. Data from the Health Protection Agency on Salmonella levels in humans indicates that Salmonella Enteritidis of UK origin has fallen substantially since 1997.
5. A recent amendment to Regulation (EC) 2160/2003 has introduced a requirement that from 1 January 2009 eggs from flocks infected with Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium must not go for direct human consumption unless they have undergone heat treatment to eliminate Salmonella; i.e., sale of fresh shell eggs from these flocks will not be permitted. In addition from November 2007 this requirement will apply to flocks when the eggs from the flock are linked to a food borne outbreak of Salmonellosis in humans.
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