The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are investigating illnesses in at least six people in Minnesota that are connected with a recall of organic shell eggs due to contamination with Salmonella Enteritidis. The contaminated eggs were traced back by the MDA to Larry Schultz Organic Farm of Owatonna, where environmental testing confirmed the presence of Salmonella Enteritidis. Larry Schultz Organic Farm is cooperating with the MDA investigation and has issued a voluntary recall of the products.

Routine reportable disease monitoring by state health officials identified six cases of Salmonella Enteritidis infection with the same DNA fingerprint. The individuals became ill between August 12 and September 24. The illnesses occurred in both children and adults, and all are residents of the seven-county metropolitan area. Three of the cases were hospitalized but have since recovered. Five of the six cases have reported eating eggs from the Larry Schultz Organic Farm purchased at grocery stores or co-ops.

Eggs affected by this recall were distributed to restaurants, grocery stores, food wholesalers and foodservice companies in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Eggs from Larry Schultz Organic Farm are packaged under the following brand names: Lunds & Byerlys Organic, Kowalski’s Organic, and Larry Schultz Organic Farm. Eggs are packed in bulk and varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons). Full product descriptions and a list of grocery stores where these products were sold can be found at www.mda.state.mn.us. Cartons bearing Plant Number 0630 or a “Sell by” date are not included in this recall.

The U.K. Health Protection Agency reports a link has been established between a batch of imported eggs and an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis Phage Type (PT) 14b infection in England and Wales.

Two hundred and twenty-one cases of Salmonella Enteritidis PT 14b infection have been reported since the beginning of this year, the majority of cases being in North West England (104 cases), the West Midlands (36 cases) and the East Midlands (26 cases).

Dr. Joe Kearney, an HPA director who chairs the outbreak control team (OCT), said:

"A strain of Salmonella Enteritidis PT 14b that is indistinguishable from samples taken from the human cases was isolated from a small number of eggs that had the same batch number.

"These eggs had come from a specific shed on one farm in Spain. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) alerted the Spanish authorities and measures were taken to eliminate the risk of contamination from this source, including the culling of a flock of hens, the cleaning of the shed and the heat treatment of eggs to kill salmonella.

"No eggs with the implicated batch number have been imported to this country since the end of June. The FSA alerted Environmental Health Officers throughout England and Wales to the situation and checks were made and continue to be made on the distribution chain. Whenever eggs with the implicated batch number are found in the system, these are removed from sale. In the meantime our investigations are continuing."

Between 2001 and 2008 the number of Australians sickened by egg-related salmonella outbreaks rose from 96 to a staggering 753. The rate fell to 358 in 2009, but eggs are still responsible for more than a third of all foodborne outbreaks linked to the pathogen.

So says The Sydney Morning Herald tomorrow (today, depending on time zone) based on records that show the increase can be, in part, traced to lax food safety practices, inadequate farm regulations and the power of retailers to influence food laws.

Martyn Kirk, a senior lecturer in epidemiology at the Australian National University, said eggs had become the most common cause of food-related disease outbreaks.

Restaurants are responsible for the bulk of poisonings: 40 per cent. And while cooking will kill salmonella, restaurants are allowed to serve foods containing raw eggs.

''Most of the vehicles we see associated with outbreaks are foods where the eggs are completely uncooked; things like chocolate mousse, tiramisu, hollandaise sauce and aolis,'' Mr Kirk said.

While egg producers in NSW are now required to be licensed with the NSW Food Authority, no government body conducts regular bacterial tests on eggs, or monitors the presence of salmonella on farms.

''In recent years there has been less surveillance in animal populations unless there has been a commercial interest,'' said Dr Kirk, who believes salmonella monitoring should be undertaken on farms.

After washing and grading, many eggs are sent to retailers where they are placed on the shelf for sale.

A risk assessment commissioned by the Australian Egg Corporation in 2004 found refrigerating eggs could reduce outbreaks of salmonella. The lead author of the report, the microbiologist Connor Thomas, told the Herald salmonella cannot grow in temperatures below seven degrees, and refrigeration reduces the breakdown of protective membranes inside the egg that stop the bacteria's growth.

''There can be no denying that keeping eggs cooled substantially increases their storage life and their safety,'' said Dr Thomas, of the University of Adelaide.

But last month Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) quietly introduced changes to the food standards code, omitting any regulations related to temperature control.

A spokeswoman for FSANZ said it chose to exclude refrigeration requirements from the standard, in part, because of ''the substantial cost of implementing such an option.''

A bad batch of eggs is all it took for home cook Mercedes Zambrano to be hit with a legal bill of more than $20,000 and a place on the NSW Food Authority's name-and-shame list for a case of mass food poisoning.

The Zambrano family had been regulars at weekly South American community gatherings at the Kensington Bowling Club for Rincon Cubano, a Latin-American music, food and dance event. ''We're like the Partridge family,'' Jefferson Zambrano, a Latin-American percussionist, said.

When the regular caterer left, his mother, Mrs Zambrano, was invited to provide the food.

But after more than 50 people fell ill with salmonella poisoning at a barbecue at the club in November 2009, Mrs Zambrano, 56, was fined $9600 and ordered to pay $11,000 in costs.

An investigation by the NSW Food Authority determined the presence of salmonella in various foods served at the function, the most likely cause of contamination being a raw whole-egg mayonnaise used in a salad.

Mrs Zambrano pleaded guilty to three offences including selling food that is unsafe, failing to comply with the Food Standards Code and a failure to notify the NSW Food Authority of her food business.

She was classified as a business because she charged money for the food. Mr Zambrano said this was unfair, as his mother was simply catering for a community event and had charged money to cover her costs rather than to make a profit.

In hearing the matter in the Local Court, Magistrate Gregory Hart acknowledged the woman had contributed significantly to her community through fund-raising, and volunteer work, and she never intended to cause harm; however, he stated the need to provide a deterrence factor in imposing his findings.

"It is important to alert [people] conducting food businesses, including part-time food businesses associated with community activities, that the requirements of the Food Act 2003 and the standards set by the Food Standards Code must be complied with," Magistrate Hart said.

The NSW Primary Industries Minister, Katrina Hodgkinson, said the case was a reminder to other community caterers of the importance of the Food Standards Code.

"This highlights the important work of the NSW Food Authority in establishing NSW regulations and food safety programs, including cultivating good food-handling practices and sharing information on food safety”