In response to questions it has received since publishing its so-called egg rule last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Tuesday published a draft guidance to give direction to egg producers.
The egg safety final rule -- "Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage, and Transportation" -- was intended to prevent Salmonella from contaminating eggs on the farm and from further bacterial growth during egg storage and transportation.
Salmonella is one of the leading causes of foodborne illness in the United States and shell eggs are a primary source of Salmonella infections. The FDA says approximately 79,000 cases of illness and 30 deaths each year are caused by eggs contaminated with Salmonella.
Among other things, the egg rule requires shell egg producers to keep records and to register with the FDA.
Tuesday's draft guidance includes questions and answers about who is covered by the egg rule, compliance dates, definitions, cleaning and disinfection, refrigeration, sampling and testing for SE, registration, enforcement and compliance.
The draft guidance is available here.
Source: Food Safety News
