§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he intends to compensate those egg-producers banned from selling raw eggs due to infection of their flocks with salmonella; for how long such bans will be operational; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 8 February 1989] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. MacGregor) gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford (Mr. Shepherd) on 10 February 1989 at column 831.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the frequency with which hens infected with salmonella lay infected eggs; and if he has instituted any survey on that subject.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 14 February 1989] : Any hen infected with an invasive strain of salmonella such as salmonella enteritidis is considered capable of producing a salmonella-contaminated egg, but information is not available on the frequency with which this actually occurs.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the distribution of salmonella infection in chicken flocks; and if he has instituted any survey of such infection.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 14 February 1989] : Since salmonella enteritidis does not cause overt clinical disease in adult poultry it is not possible to determine the extent of the infection without extensive testing which, in the absence of a simple, rapid and sensitive test for salmonella enteritidis, is not possible.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement concerning the action that would be necessary to achieve a long-term solution to the problems associated with salmonellae in poultry and eggs.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 14 February 1989]: I refer the hon. Member to the replies that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Central (Mr. Lord) on 18 January (Hansard columns 214–15), and 1 February (Hansard column 247), to my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) on 27 January (Hansard column 806) and my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford (Mr. Shepherd) on 10 February (Hansard column 831).
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the incidence of transmission of salmonella into eggs by trans-shell and transovarian routes respectively; and if he has instituted any research into this question.
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§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer lit February 1989] : On transovarian infection of eggs, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West (Mr. Jones) on 22 December 1988 (Hansard column 440).
It is clear from research which has already been conducted that, though the frequency of contamination by either route is not known precisely, transmission through the shell from faecal contamination is more common than transovarial transmission.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the number of salmonellae in eggs produced or marketed in England, and on any survey he has instituted in order to compile such information.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 14 February' 1989] : No extensive testing has been undertaken specifically on the number of eggs infected with salmonella in England.
From the 15,411 eggs from 500 flocks which have been examined for various purposes, however, in only one instance was salmonella enteritidis detected.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the incidence of salmonella infected hens in chicken flocks; and if he has instituted a survey of such incidence.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 14 February 1989] : Since salmonella enteritidis does not cause overt clinical disease in adult poultry it is not possible to give precise figures of the extent of the infection without extensive testing, which in the absence of a simple, rapid and sensitive test for salmonella enteritidis, is not possible. However, the Zoonoses Order 1975 requires isolations of salmonella to be reported. Provisional figures indicate that 370 isolations of salmonella enteritidis in 1988 were reported.
§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek to give statutory backing to the code of practice for the control of salmonellae in commercial laying flocks prepared by his Ministry jointly with the British Poultry Federation.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 14 February 1989] : As I announced in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Central (Mr. Lord) on 18 January Hansard columns 214–15 I propose to introduce a requirement on operators to carry out regular bacteriological monitoring, together with strenghthened statutory requirements about the control of rodents, with provision for compulsory cleansing and disinfection and requirements for the hygienic handling of eggs.
§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce a salmonella enteritidis eradication scheme for the poultry industry based on a slaughter policy with compensation.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 14 February 1989] : Salmonella organisms are widespread in the environment and their total elimination is virtually impossible. However, as one of the measures to deal with the problem of salmonella enteritidis, as I announced in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford (Mr. 269W Shepherd) on 10 February Hansard column 831, I shall shortly be making an order to provide where necessary for the compulsory slaughter of laying flocks in which salmonella has been confirmed. Compensation will be paid as required by the Animal Health Act 1981.