It should come as no surprise that the price of eggs is climbing in the wake of the recent massive Salmonella-linked recall. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials say wholesale prices are up $1.35 per dozen since August 13, when the first recall was announced.
The United Egg Producers, a trade association for companies in the egg business, said the loss of more than a half-billion eggs from the food supply, due to the recall, was bound to place pressure on prices. Producers not affected by the Salmonella scare are facing significantly higher demand.
Among producers facing higher demand are those in West Virginia, who are not connected to the recall. A West Virginia Agriculture Department spokesman says the state currently has 200 licensed egg producers. Since the recall, he says many farms have been selling out their supplies at a faster than normal rate.
Vaccinating hens
While U.S. consumers have become all too aware of potential Salmonella contamination in eggs, it's not a problem for consumers in the UK. More than 10 years ago, British producers began vaccinating their hens. Since then there has been no egg contamination problem.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drafted new egg safety rules that went into effect last month, The New York Times reports the agency considered -- but decided against -- requiring similar vaccinations for U.S. hens. The FDA said its new rules would have prevented the outbreak if they had been in force earlier in the year, when the problem occurred.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD) noted a spike in Salmonella illnesses in mid May. The illnesses were eventually traced to two egg producers in Iowa. The Times report quotes industry experts who say they were disappointed the mandatory hen vaccination element was left out of the new egg rules. Salmonella can infect hens, who pass the bacteria onto the eggs as they are being formed.
Staying vigilant
The CDC reports that, by its count, more than 1,300 consumers have been sickened with Salmonella due to contaminated eggs. But keep in mind that symptoms don't appear immediately.
In fact, the CDC says illnesses that occurred after July 17, 2010, might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of two to three weeks for Salmonella, according to the CDC.
"Epidemiologic investigations conducted by public health officials in 10 states since April have identified 26 restaurants or event clusters where more than one ill person with the outbreak strain has eaten," the CDC said on its website. "Data from these investigations suggest that shell eggs are a likely source of infections in many of these restaurants or event clusters."
The agency says preliminary information indicates that Wright County Egg, in Galt, Iowa, was an egg supplier in 15 of these 26 restaurants or event clusters. A formal traceback was conducted by state agencies in California, Colorado, and Minnesota, in collaboration with FDA and CDC, to find a common source of shell eggs.
Wright County Egg in Iowa was found as the common source of the shell eggs associated with three of the clusters. Through traceback and FDA investigational findings, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, Inc. was identified as another potential source of contaminated shell eggs contributing to this outbreak. FDA is currently conducting extensive investigations at both of these firms in Iowa. The investigations involve sampling, records review and looking for potential sources of contamination, such as feed.
On August 13, 2010, Wright County Egg conducted a nationwide voluntary recall of shell eggs. On August 18, 2010, the company expanded its recall. On August 20, 2010, Hillandale Farms of Iowa conducted a nationwide voluntary recall of shell eggs.
