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Listen to this siteFriday 19 March 2004
eggs boiled
The survey was carried out to assess the rate of salmonella in Grade A, UK-produced eggs and to determine whether this had changed since the previous survey in 1995/96, which looked at eggs on sale in England.
QA
Results of tests from a total of 4,753 samples of six or more eggs from various retail outlets (shops, supermarkets and markets) were included in the survey. Of these, 50% were eggs from caged production, 16.5% were barn eggs, 16.9% were free-range eggs and 16.6% were organic eggs. Of these, 84% had the Lion code mark on the egg boxes.
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A total of 62.7% were purchased in England, 17.1% in Scotland, 16.5% in Northern Ireland and 3.8% in Wales. Of these, 75% were from supermarkets and large retailers, 13% from medium sized retailers (independent and local shops) and 12% from small retailers e.g. farm shops, market stalls, butchers, milkmen etc.
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Duck and quail eggs form a small proportion of the market and were therefore excluded from the survey.
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The overall prevalence of salmonella per box of 6 eggs is 0.34% which is roughly one box in every 290. In the previous survey in 1995/96 in England the prevalence was 0.99%, which is equivalent to approximately one box in every 100. Therefore the level of salmonella contamination is now one third of what is was in 1996.
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In all of the positive samples, salmonella was found on the shell, and not inside the egg. This shows the importance of following the Agency’s advice on the safe handling of eggs, as well as the safe use of eggs, in order to avoid cross contamination – speading the bug on other foods and kitchen surfaces and cooking utensils.
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There was no significant difference in salmonella contamination between country where the eggs were sampled. Of the nine positive samples found, seven of the positives were from England and two from Wales. None came from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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There was no statistically significant difference in salmonella prevalence between the different egg production types (ie: caged, organic, free range and barn).
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Non-UK eggs were not included in the study, as there are not enough on retail sale to provide meaningful results. However, the Agency is planning a survey of salmonella contamination of non-UK eggs, which are used predominantly in the UK for commercial and catering use.
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