HL Deb 14 January 1991 vol 524 c69WA
Lady Saltoun of Abernethy

asked Her Majesty's Government:

If any cases of invasive salmonella have been found in consignments of imported eggs in the current year.

Baroness Trumpington

The Public Health Laboratory Service is investigating consignments of imported eggs for the presence of invasive salmonella. In arrivals up to 8th November, they have identified invasive salmonella in 24 consignments of Dutch eggs, in two consignments of Belgian eggs and in one consignment each from France and Germany. One consignment of eggs from the Irish Republic was also found to be contaminated.

The number of isolations of invasive salmonella in eggs from our major overseas supplier (the Netherlands) is particularly worrying and my right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has taken this up with the Dutch Minister of Agriculture as a matter of urgency.

The Dutch veterinary services already have a monitoring and control programme for salmonella enteritidis in the breeding sector and those breeding flocks found to be infected are destroyed. In addition, a code of practice will be introduced shortly in the egg-laying sector which will place particular emphasis on all aspects of hygiene. Following the approach of my right honourable friend, the Dutch Ministry will be discussing with egg producers additional safeguards that will offer protection to consumers both within the Netherlands and in the UK. It is too early to say precisely what form these controls will take, but they will be developed in close co-operation with the Chief Veterinary Officer.