Food standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) calls for comments about an overview of the safety standards of eggs that have arisen after a large outbreak of Salmonella.
Proposed changes to the new -Zeeland new -Zeeland food standard code are aimed at strengthening eggs and eggs in Australia with measures such as environmental monitoring, improved traceability and temperature control during storage and transport.
The assessment follows a 2018 to 2019 Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak linked to eggs that resulted in 245 diseases.
Fsanz said that existing measures, incomplete intake of industrial regulations and inconsistent state -regulating approaches have created gaps in EI -food safety management and national inconsistency in the application of requirements in industry.
The most important proposed changes are the introduction of environmental monitoring of poultry houses for the presence of Salmonella Enteritidis, the strengthening of the traceability requirements of eggs and temperature control during storage and transport of eggs.
Details about planned changes
Fsanz plans to demand egg producers to taste and test herds of environments for Salmonella Enteritidis. A positive detection would cause a reaction to determine whether the herd is infected. When a positive herd is detected, any condition has legislation that includes biosafety controls. The agency has not determined the frequency of sampling and testing, but said it should be at risks.
Another proposal requires that each egg identifies the relevant producer by using a unique figure applied to the egg before it can be sold. This ensures faster traceback to a source farm. The current requirements have demonstrated to the producer as a loaded, time -consuming and often failed activity until more diseases have occurred, Fsanz said.
Egg producers and processors will have to ensure that time and temperature conditions under which eggs are stored and transported, do not make them unsafe or unsuitable. Existing regulatory measures do not concern the problem of the presence and growth of Salmonella in the egg.
Due to the likely costs for cooling eggs in the supply chain for the sale of the retail trade and the constant sporadic nature of herd infection with Salmonella Enteritidis, obliging cooling after assessment was not the preferred approach.
Planned changes also include pest control, egg cleaning and areas that have free run -out chickens. Comments can be submitted until May 12.
Dr. Sandra Cuthbert, CEO of Fsanz, said that eggs are an important part of a healthy diet and a staple food for many Australians.
“Our proposed changes build on existing bio-safety and food safety measures to further reduce the risk of Salmonella Enteritidis and to strengthen the traceability in the supply chain. These evidence-based changes will help to minimize the risks for public health, to support the response to potential regulatory.
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