§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he has any evidence of inadequately heat-treated bulk liquid egg being released for commercial sale; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what research his Department has commissioned into whether it is possible, by microbiological testing, to determine whether any batch of bulk liquid eggs is so heavily contaminated in its untreated state that it will cause a liquid egg pasteurisation process to fail.
§ Mr. FreemanI have been asked to reply.
The pasteurisation of bulk raw liquid egg is a very sensitive process. Only a moderate heat treatment for a limited time during the process can be applied otherwise the functional properties of the liquid egg are destroyed. Therefore, it follows that there will be levels of contamination at which some bacteria will survive. It is desirable that the raw product being accepted for pasteurisation should not be subject to heavy contamination. An investigation into the efficacy of pasteurisation of whole liquid egg is being conducted by the PHLS. However, it is recognised that the introduction of the Liquid Egg (Pasteurisation) Regulations 1963 had a profound effect in reducing the number of human cases of salmonellosis.
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§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what checks and procedures are adopted to identify failures in the pasteurisation of bulk liquid egg(a) by his Department and (b) by industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanI have been asked to reply.
Local authorities have responsibility for enforcing the Liquid Egg (Pasteurisation) Regulations 1963 and they take samples for an alpha amylase test which indicates if the pasteurisation process has been effective. Tests for the presence of salmonella are also carried out. The food industry carries out its own controls through its quality assurance systems.