HC Deb 16 December 1988 vol 143 cc768-9W
Mr. Fearn

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will make a further statement on the alleged salmonella outbreak in eggs.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

Today's newspapers will carry the first run of an advertisement advising consumers about eating eggs. The advertisement will be carried by national daily, Sunday and leading regional newspapers over the coming weekend. These advertisements set out the facts of the matter and give clear and sensible advice to consumers.

Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much evidence there is of salmonella enteriditis existing in the egg yolk before the egg is laid; and by whom and where this evidence was obtained.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

A number of scientific papers by American and European researchers report that certain salmonella serotypes including salmonella enteritidis may infect the ovaries and oviducts of laying hens with the resulting potential to contaminate egg contents before the egg is laid. Two recent papers by research workers in the United Kingdom report the isolation of salmonella enteritidis from the ovary of birds from a broiler breeder flock and the ovary, oviducts and yolk of soft shelled egg in hens from a commercial laying flock.

Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures were taken to warn egg producers that the catering trade should use pasteurised bulk egg prior to the comments made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health concerning salmonella in fresh eggs.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

Liaison with producer representatives has been a feature of the joint consultation between my Department and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Producer representatives have known since July this year that caterers were being advised to use pasteurised egg instead of raw shell eggs in foods that were not to be cooked.